The Duel Of Love
by Theanimekitty89
Summary: Pucca is the person every girl wants to be; intelligent, cheerleader, and hot. On top of that, she is capable of making any guy to like her. Or is she? A new mysterious boy transfers into her class; the handsome Garu who seems to be hiding something. In her attempt to make him fall in love, Pucca discovers bit for bit, the dark past which Garu has suffered. Read and Review!
1. Character Info

**_Me:_ Hi! Ak-chans here with a new fanfic! I have just been wondering 'bout what I should make for Pucca when this brilliant idea came across my mind. Well, anyway, here's some info about a character who I want to introduce!**

* * *

_Name:_ Lily.

_Age:_ 16 years.

_Hair color:_ Blond with some strands of blue.

_Eye color:_ Hazel.

_Friends:_ Pucca, Ching, Abyo, Garu and some others.

_School:_ Sooga High School.

_Others:_ Likes to hang out at either Pucca or Chings house. She's tomboyish, yet she likes to help people with their romance issues though she isn't very good at it. She often complains about her lack of boyfriends and is good at kickboxing despite the fact that she eats a lot without getting fat.

* * *

**_Me:_ Well, this was Lily and I hope she will make some humor in the next couple of chapters. Till then, I need to write some comedy. Bye!**


	2. News

**Hi, theanimekitty89 here! Or just AK-chan :3 Yeah, I changed the title of the story as I saw another fanfic with the same name! Since I just started the whole story, I didn't want to stand out like some unoriginal writer But, anyway, here's the second chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: News.**

"Here you go; a hot bowl of miso noodle soup!".

"Oh, thank you! You're such a nice girl".

"Hee hee! Aw, don't mention it, Mrs. Lao".

After dropping the steaming bowl of noodles, and receiving a smile from the sweet old lady, the young waitress bounced to the next table. It was a chilly day in January and many people had come inside the restaurant 'Goh-Rong', to warm themselves up with warm noodles. So the girl had a lot to attend to at the moment, serving the guests and taking their orders, though, she looked like she enjoyed it with that smile she was wearing.

The waitress was a girl on the age of fifteen. Her velvet black hair was in two, big, curly pigtails held by red ribbons. She was wearing a red dress which went to her thighs, black leggings, white legwarmers, and white boots with black shoelaces. Eventually the amount of costumers got smaller, so the girl took off her apron which she was currently wearing and went inside the restaurants kitchen.

"Uncle Dumpling, can I go now?", she asked one of the three chefs who were busy with preparing the food.

"Of course, Pucca. You've worked hard today, you deserve to relax a little", the kitchen chef said and patted his niece on her head, earning a smile from her. She'd taken care to take as much costumers so that her uncles wouldn't force the poor Dada to work harder than he already did. Pucca had already taken on her red scarf and coat, when Linguini had given her, her delivery box with three bowls of noodle inside and a note with an address.

"Could you please deliver these on your way out?".

The black haired girl read the address over and smiled warmly.

"Of course, Uncle Linguini, I was actually on my way to visit them anyway!".

Pucca sat on her lobster-red bike and drove away with the delivery and a smile.

* * *

When the small teenager arrived at the address, she jumped off her ride and literally bounced in happiness with her delivery box. After knocking a few times on the wooden door, the owner finally opened it. It was a girl on Pucca's age with just as dark hair but this girl had her down to her waist. The girl had hazelnut brown eyes and soft pink lips, her hair made into two side pigtails. The girl was currently wearing a light blue pajama with small, white chickens all over it.

Arms wrapped around the delivery girl's slim neck as she felt a body press against her own and a smile bloom on her face.

"Pucca! Oh, it's been an eternity since I last saw you!", Ching squealed like a little schoolgirl. Pucca rolled her eyes.

"The Winter Break ends today, Ching. Two weeks can't be that long".

The long haired teen pulled away with a smile.

"You know what I-oooh! You brought the noodles, why didn't you say it, silly? Get inside or they'll get cold".

Pucca took off her coat and scarf along with her boots.

"Better have the cash ready or should I put this one on your already long bill?" ,she smirked. Her best friend rubbed her neck nervously at this statement.

"Told ya that you shouldn't order take away when your already broken, Ching", another voice said. Then a person came out. The girl had short blond hair and hazel eyes. She was in pajamas too, though hers was a pair of baggy pants and a T-shirt. She began to smile cockily as she moved a blue strand of dyed hair behind her ear.

"'Sup, Pucca? Haven't seen you in centuries!".

"See? I'm not the only one!", Ching accused. The delivery girl once again rolled her eyes.

"You guys are so melodramatic".

* * *

Later, the three teens sat on a large couch of black leather in front of a TV in the living room. The delivery girl had borrowed a pink pajama with red hearts and imitated her two best friends by staring at the screen and eating noodles with chopsticks. Eventually the blonde snapped her fingers in realization.

"Oh, that's right! Some girls I know told me, that a new student is starting tomorrow".

Ching began to twirl her chopsticks in the air as she spoke.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that. He's starting in our class. The rumor says he's quite cute".

The blonde snorted.

"Girl, are you kidding? _Cute_? I have seen the dude and let me tell y'all somethin'; he's the definition on the word _hot_", she grinned.

"Hmm, is that so?", Pucca said, her eyes still not leaving the TV screen. She was done with her bowl of noodles.

"Are you saying that you're not interested, Pucca?", Ching asked. The delivery girl shrugged.

"C'mon, Pucca! We know that all the guys at school falls for ya like bees for honey, but even you need a boyfriend. Unless…", the blonde narrowed her eyes a bit.

"Unless what?".

"…you're not lesbian, are ya?".

The delivery girl's eyes widened in shock.

"No! Of course not, I'm just not into in a relationship right now".

"Ya sure?".

"Yes, Lily!".

"Fine, then Ching and I will check him out, then", the blonde said and wrapped her arm around Ching. She seemed a little bit confused.

"Well…".

"I'll make sure Abyo won't find out", the blonde whispered which made the long haired girl blush.

"I-I'm not worried about Abyo!".

"Ple-ease, you are so into him~".

"Am not!".

"Are too~¨.

"Am not!".

"Are too~".

"_Now I know why I didn't visit them during Winter Break",_ Pucca thought. But as her two best friends argued, she couldn't help but wonder who that student was.

* * *

**Me: Yeah, I know, small chapter, the next update will be here soon too :D**

**Reviews?**


	3. The new kid

**Here we go** **again! The third chapter of Pucca! Hope you'll like it and remember that I do not own Pucca. Oh, and by the way; I have been posting some drawings of 'my' Pucca characters in by my descriptions, and I know that I'm not the best artist, but I'd be glad if you'd take a look and give me some comments, okay? The links are on my profile! :D**

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**Chapter 3: The new kid.**

**Pucca's point of view. **

This morning, I didn't wake by the annoying sounds of my alarm, blasting at 7a.m. as usual. No, I woke up by the sound of my annoying _friends_, instead. And that wasn't any better. Burying my head in my pink pillows, I tried desperately to shut out their voices from outside my house. And it almost worked, that was when the sound of something constantly hitting my window could be heard, echoing through my bedroom. I groaned as I ran a hand through my dark hair, glancing at the clock. Huh, it was almost seven o' clock, so I could just as well get up from the bed. As I brushed my teeth, I could still hear Ching and Lily's voices from outside.

"_Do ya think she heard us?"._

"_Lily, isn't it wrong to throw stones at Pucca's window?"._

"_Hmm, you're right; these stones aren't big enough to actually wake her up. Gimme that big one over there-"._

"_That wasn't what I meant!"._

"Are you guys insane?".

I was currently bending over the window frame in the bathroom, staring down upon the girls who were now waving at me like angels. I sighed and took out my toothbrush out of my mouth, annoyed.

"Why are you throwing rocks at my window?".

"Because you weren't answering when we knocked on your door", Ching replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah, but we could also just have broken up the front door, Ching ", Lily crossed her arms and glanced accusingly on Ching who rubbed her neck.

"I'll be down by a second", I said, shutting the window. Those girls really weren't afraid to do anything stupid. Taking a hair brush, I pulled it through my dark locks. It was almost as long as Ching's hair when I kept it loose, but I rarely I did. I liked having pigtails because it looked cute. I took on a red sweater, a short black skirt, black leggings, the white legwarmers and boots on. I swung on my red schoolbag as I walked down the stairs.

"_Should I or should I not skip breakfast today?_", I thought as I passed the kitchen on my way out.

"_What's taking her so long? That's it!"._

"_Wait, Lily, put that stone down!"._

"_Well, that makes the decision a lot easier_", I thought as I exited my home to prevent my best friend from breaking something she obviously couldn't pay later.

* * *

Our school is Sooga High and was pretty much okay. The entire area was buzzing by the sound of chatting students who were talking about they'd done in the Winter Break. But besides that, there weren't anything extraordinary going on. Lily, Ching and I were chatting at our lockers when Ching suddenly spaced out. I waved my hands in front of her face.

"Hey, Ching!".

"Forget it, Pucca, we've lost her completely", my blonde friend answered and pointed behind herself with a smirk. My eyes followed her finger until I noticed what made Ching space out like this. Abyo. He was walking through the hallway with some of his friends, laughing at some joke. He was one of our good friends and was good at Kung Fu. But he had also the most annoying habit ever; jumping in the air while ripping off his shirt as he cried out what seemed to be his 'battle cry'. But apparently, Ching is totally head over heels over him, even though she won't admit it. She immediately snapped by to reality and hid herself behind her locker.

"Oh, no, he's coming this way! Pucca, hide me!".

Ching pulled me by my sweater and hid herself behind me, like it she wasn't totally obvious that you could still see her. I sighed in surrender and stood still, hoping that Ching eventually would find this ridiculous. Abyo waved his friends goodbye and approached us.

"What's up, girls. Missed me during winter?".

Lily glanced at me, still smirking.

"Oh, I know someone who definitely missed ya-", said Lily before a hand covered her mouth. Ching had gone out from her hiding place and was now preventing her friend from saying something that would probably embarrass her.

"Oh, hey, Ching".

The long haired girl froze and I could clearly see her entire face turning redder faster than it could take Lily to break into my house. She let go of the blonde and began playing with her fingers.

"U-uh, hi, Abyo…".

I slightly giggled when my blonde friend made gagging sounds which Ching luckily didn't hear. Suddenly the clock rang, signalizing that the first class had begun. We all had English with a small and petite teacher with classes named Mrs. Petunia. I took out a small notebook and my pencil case to begin taking notes. I don't want to brag or anything but I practically get straight A's in almost every subject. Lily says that I'm lucky to be a cheerleader or else I'd be picked on and called a geek like the rest of the smart kids. Okay, yeah, maybe I was a bit nerdy, but I'm just taking school seriously. Unlike a certain blonde female I know. As the teacher began talking about how lovely it was to see all of us, Lily had already made herself comfortable on her table and was about to drift into Dreamland.

"Class, I'd like all of you to say hello to a new student of ours…".

I wasn't really paying attention either, when I drew small patterns of hearts and lines all over the first page of my notebook. I mean, I would ace any test we would get anyway. Suddenly I heard whispering and giggles spread around me by the girls. I shrugged it off and continued coloring. Then I heard the empty chair next to me move, and I immediately stopped drawing and instead looked at the person now sitting next to me.

He was listening to music and his foot was hitting the floor, in beat with the music he was listening to. His black spiky hair hung down and reached his shoulders, his midnight black eyes were half closed and his mouth was chewing some gum. My brain worked hard on recognizing him, but when I failed, I poked Lily slightly to wake her up. She glanced at me with half lidded eyes.

"Who is he?", I whispered to her and pointed at the strange guy. She yawned a little and scratched her blonde hair.

"Oh, him? He's the new kid".

* * *

"Oh, so you already fell for him, huh?".

The girls and I sat on our regular table inside the school cafeteria. My chin rested on my palms, as I kept glancing at our new classmate. But I ended up sighing and drinking some hot cacao instead.

"Nah, just checking him out as you said".

"He's gorgeous, right? Not every day you find a guy like him", the blonde purred behind a tuna sandwich. I almost gagged.

"So how much are we betting this time? 50 bucks that he'll ask you for a date within this week? Or ask your number, huh?".

"It's not so clever of you to lose your money like that, Lily", I smirked. Yeah, we've actually made a game out of this. I've always been the sweet one that all the guys fall in love with ever since I was thirteen. Now, I practically dumb a guy at least once every second week, but Lily doesn't mind losing some of her money once in a while. And it's not like I'm complaining. It's a nice bonus after my pay at Goh Rong. I noticed that a couple of girls were totally squealing, and looking dreamily in his direction. But he didn't seem to mind, eating lunch while still listening to his music with a couple of guys.

"His name is Garu. Rumor says that there weren't one girl who didn't confess her love to him at his old school. I would say that the two of you have a lot in common, actually", Ching said, eating a salad.

"Why did he change school?".

She shrugged. "I dunno".

I rested my chin on my palms, once again. "Interesting. Something tells me, that this will turn out quite interesting". I smiled

* * *

**Me: I suck at this! Sorry, if this didn't turn out as good as expected, by I gave it a shot. Gosh, I have to watch more Pucca! Well, until next chapter arrives, see ya! :D **


	4. The unexpected

**Back with another chapter! Man, this wasn't easy, but I hope it turned out okay. And thanks you guys so much for your encouraging reviews, I couldn't have done this without them! (^-^)**

**Lily: We don't own Pucca, because if we did, it would turn out **_**horribly.**_

**Me: Hey! I'm still here, you know.**

**(*Lily looks at me and then turns around*): As I said. ****Horribly!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The unexpected.**

Normal point of view.

After lunch, the girls all had P.E. They went into the girls' locker and changed into their gym clothes. They were all going to be inside the gym, because of the snow outside. An almost bald, large man named Mr. Cole was their Gym and History teacher.

"It's nice to see all of you after the Winter Break, class! Hopefully, all of you haven't been sitting in front of the TV the entire holiday", he said and turned some pages in his notebook.

"Firstly, you'll be doing some strength exercises to straight all of you lazy kids up".

The students all starting running inside the gym a couple of times, then began making different kinds of exercise such as pushups, skipping and playing different kinds of ball games. Where some teens were getting breathless, Pucca were doing just fine. She was quite strong for a girl on her petite size, and if her two friends wouldn't wake her up early in the morning, she would do some morning training. Glancing at a certain black haired guy, the girl saw that he wasn't getting all sweaty or panting like the other boys. Maybe Garu was used to train hard? Even some girls had stopped exercising to goggle him.

Being inattentive, made the black haired girl ignore the flying dodge ball, before it actually smacked her in the face, and make her land on her butt.

"Oi, Sorry Pucca! But your reflexes are better than that, why didn't you see the ball coming?", Lily asked as she picked up the ball. Pucca rubbed her butt as she got up, her azure eyes looking into anything else than the blonde in front of her.

"Uh, I was lost in my own thoughts".

Luckily, Lily had believed in the lie, and shrugged as she ran back to continue playing. Pucca sighed in relief. Lily and Ching (especially Lily) would never stop teasing her, if they knew that she was starting to check Garu out more and more. _She_ was known for being the school's female heartbreaker, so of course she felt threatened by the new guy in her class, who could make any girl's heart melt. And strangely, it felt like Garu really wasn't putting any effort into it. Shaking her head, she now focused on getting back at her blonde friend from hitting her with a dodge ball. Maybe it had been an accident, but still, it had hurt.

* * *

"Hello, my dear students! I hope all of you had a great winter, and are ready to work extra hard in school!".

The class had History now, with a totally perky female teacher. She had big brown eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses and looked at the students with a big smile. Maybe too big.

"I've decided that all of us are going to perform a play for the school in a couple of weeks! It's the classic play; Romeo and Juliet!", she said cheerfully. Some of the students sighed in tiredness while others were squealing in happiness.

"I'll give each of you a role, based after what suits you best and we'll be practicing in each History lesson the next three weeks", the woman said, while taking the manuscripts in her embrace, dropping one at each pupil. The pig tail haired girl glanced at her manuscript as soon as it was dropped at her table as well. Her name was written on it and next to her name was written her role as…

"Juliet?", she asked, confused. She honestly hadn't expected herself to get one of the main characters. But she guessed she was lucky. The two girls sitting beside her squealed with joy.

"I'm the personal servant and nurse of Juliet, Lady Capulet", Ching said.

"Sweet, I'm Mercutio!", Lily said.

"But, he's a male character, Lily".

"So? As long as I don't have to wear a dress, I'm cool with it", she smiled. A girl nearby squealed loudly.

"Who's going to be Juliet?".

Pucca pointed at herself. "I am".

The girls sighed in union, which caused the pig tail haired girl to frown.

"What?".

"Apparently, Garu got the role as…", Lily sighed dreamily to tease Pucca. "…_Romeo_".

The girl shrugged.

"Well, we will begin the play as soon as everyone has received and understood their roles", the teacher clapped her hands. The students raised themselves from their seats whenever their turn came to 'act'. Everything began to come a little out of control as soon as Lily and Ching went up, since Lily couldn't pronounce some words properly, and Ching had to ask what they meant too, making the smiling teacher face palm. But nevertheless, Pucca and Garu's romantic scene came eventually.

The spiky haired boy stood in front of the pig tail haired girl, both of them reading from the manuscript.

"He jests at scars that never felt a wound. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief", he said, reading up from the papers, but then gazing up and locking Pucca's azure eyes with his own.

"That thou her maid art far more fair than she".

He came slowly closer to her, never leaving her eyes. The girl felt herself catching her breath as he approached.

"It is my lady, O, it is my love. O that she knew were. She speaks, yet she says nothing, what of that? Her eyes discourses, I will answer it".

Pucca knew she was spacing out, but she was trapped. She couldn't break through the spell he'd cast over her, she couldn't leave his dark eyes, dark as the night itself. They were so close; she didn't have any trouble hearing him, even though he spoke lowly.

"The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp. Her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright. That birds would sing and think it were not night. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek", he whispered, and softly cupped her cheek. The pig tailed girl hoped he did not notice how warm they were.

"Ay me…", she whispered in general.

A shock went through her, as the sound of the bell snapped her back to reality. The girls all squealed and commented on how cute and romantic it was, while they were leaving the class room. Pucca felt stiff and watched as Garu idly stuffed his hands in his pockets and disappeared as well as the other students. A smack on her back made her go yelp in surprise.

"Boy, do I wish that I were in your shoes right now", Lily grinned. Ching giggled as well. But Pucca was anything but happy. She groaned in anger and had to grit her teeth to prevent herself from yelling.

"Damn, he's good".

* * *

Next up was Science. The students had to work together in groups, and combine small amount of different acids and write down the course. Pucca, Lily and Ching were in a group, where Pucca was the one combining the acids and Ching and Lily had to write down. The pig tail haired girl had to blink several times to not space out, thinking about what happened to her earlier…

"_Gosh, Pucca, snap out of it! __**No guy**__ should have this affect on me! Ugh, Garu is going to pay for this!_", she thought as she took a random flask with some strange red liquid in it. The blonde frowned.

"Uh, Pucca…".

"_I mean it's not like he's something special, maybe a bit cuter than the usual guys I see, and he seems to be sporty too…_".

"Yo, Pucca, are you even listening-".

"… _and not to mention, that he doesn't completely suck as an actor-"._

"Hey, Pucca baby-".

"What?", she snapped at her blonde friend, just as the flask she was currently holding, exploded with liquid. Luckily, it wasn't dangerous and could easily be wiped away with a wet towel.

"Uh, never mind".

Pucca growled as she slammed a fist into the metal table.

"_Oh, he's definitely going to pay!_".

* * *

**Me: Weeeeell? I hope I didn't completely mess up the whole **_**Romeo and Juliet **_**theme, 'cause I'm from Denmark and have **_**never **_**heardabout **_**Romeo and Juliet**_** before. Hopefully, that text I copied from the internet wasn't completely wrong, so if you like it, you're welcome! And sorry for the short chapter, I haven't got any good inspiration lately.**

**Remember 2 review, guys! :3 **


	5. The bet

**Well, this is turning interesting, isn't it? Another chapter because I'm in such a good mood. Oh, and the previous chapter has minor fail. I wrote that the gym teacher Mr. Cold also had History. Just forget that, kay? ^.^ And thanks for all the reviews. What should I do without them?**

**Disclaimer: I STILL DON'T OWN PUCCA, IN CASE Y'ALL FORGOT!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The bet.**

"Pucca, do you think there's a chance that…Abyo might like me?".

Pucca and Ching were at Pucca's home, in her room and making homework. The walls were light pink, the furniture was either white or creamy colored, and her bed was king sized with a hot pink color and pink pillows. So yeah…everything was pink. The black haired girl had her hair in a large ponytail, and was chewing the back of her pencil (guess what color).

"Ching, you've liked that guy since who knows how long? Just ask him out", the girl shrugged.

Ching played with her fingers nervously. "B-but, what if he doesn't like me back..?".

Just as Pucca was going to give her best friend a reply, the door was being opened.

"I'm home~", a familiar voice said.

"Lily, you don't actually own this building. I do", the girl with the ponytail said.

"Gosh, I'm exhausted! I could use another holiday", the blonde said, throwing herself on top of the king sized bed, and ignoring Pucca's comment.

"So, whatcha doin'?", she asked.

"Making homework".

"Well, I'm outta here".

The blonde was stopped by a hand grabbing her ankle, as she was about to leave the room.

"Hey!".

"We go in the same class, so you have to do them too", Pucca smirked. The blonde shook her head.

"But I don't wanna…".

"My house, my rules".

The blonde muttered something about slave work, as she took out her books and notebooks. The girls worked in silence, occasional asking each other about help. The clock inside the room which was heart shaped, ticked and ticked until…

"My brain's melting…".

"Really? Thought it already were".

The blonde shot the delivery girl a glare, but sighed in boredom.

"This is boring, let's talk about something".

"Like what?".

"Like", the girl scratched her chin, but snapped her fingers. "Like about that party that's being held this Saturday".

"Oh, that?", Pucca said, lazily resting her head on her palm.

Flashback:

"_That was great, girls! That's it for today", a voice called out loud. Several girls were sweating and panting as they went inside to take a shower after the hard cheerleader training. The leader being Pucca, smiled satisfied with her work. She was wearing a red and white top with a golden turtleneck and the letters S and H standing for Sooga High was imprinted with red, a white short skirt, matching pair of socks, and white shoes. Her hair was tied in two big, tight pig tails held by red and white elastics and around her wrists she wore white wristbands. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, and exited the gym as well._

_After the shower, she swung her red sports bag around her shoulder, and as she went out, she immediately saw a familiar person, standing and chatting with her friends. A girl on their age, with glossy waves of long blue hair, chocolate brown eyes and rosy lips. She wore an expensive looking greenish blue dress, accessories and black ballerina shoes. The girl glanced at Pucca and instantly smirked._

"_Hey, Pucca. How nice to see you again after all this time", she smiled._

"_Uh, yeah, nice to see you too", the delivery girl replied, rather confused. The blue haired girl clasped her hands and made a salute with two of her fingers._

"_Well, I have to get going now! See ya". With that said, she left the girls. _

"_Bitch", Lily coughed, which made Ching giggle. Pucca sighed._

"_What did Ring Ring want?"._

"_Just wanted to tell, that she had invited us to a stuck-up party she holding this Saturday", the blonde shrugged. Pucca glanced back at the blue haired girl who was leaving. Ring Ring was Pucca's biggest rival in almost everything ever since they were kids. She seemed nice and could actually put on a believable smile, but that was a part of her plan. To attack when you least expected it. But it was weird. If they were rivals, why would she invite Lily, Ching and Pucca to her party? Things were definitely getting fishy…_

End of Flashback:

"I'm not going".

The blonde and her chicken-holding friend both looked at the delivery girl with a clueless expression.

"Eh? Why not?".

"Don't you guys get it?", Pucca pointed out. "Why should my childhood rival invite me, the person she hates the most to her party? It's obviously a trap!".

"Trap?", the blonde said. "What do you think she wants to do?".

"I dunno, she probably wants to embarrass me like she always has", the girl muttered. "I don't see why she wouldn't do it now".

Ching held her pencil right under her chin, thinking. "You know, maybe that's not the case. I mean, why throw a big party only to humiliate Pucca?".

"Don't forget that Ring Ring is unbelievably rich, Ching", Lily said.

"And that she's probably trying to get back on me, for being so popular around the boys", Pucca smirked.

"Oh! Speaking of, how's it going with Garu, huh? Has he confessed yet?", Ching asked excited. The delivery girl swallowed hard in embarrassment. It had been two weeks after Garu had arrived at Sooga High, and in those two weeks, Pucca had tried everything she could to make Garu notice her. She was acting extra sweet, had taken on cute outfits almost everytday and she had flirted like never before. She wasn't exactly good at it since it was _the boys _and not her who used to take the initiative.

"Uh…actually…no".

Lily whistled a happy tone, with her signature cockily smile.

"Seems like I won't be losing my money this time".

Pucca heated up, denying to have lost. _"Just you wait and see, i haven't lost yet…"._

* * *

"You're all going to work together in pairs with the person you sit next to", said their Biology teacher. "So hurry up, so that you'll end this exercise before lunch".

The class hummed with chat and laughter as they paired up two and two. Pucca had turned to look at Garu, still listening to music. When he glanced back at her, she gave one of her famous sweet smiles and was batting her eyelashes, trying to look cute.

"Well, Garu, we better get started!", she said sweetly. He replied by giving a small smile. _Not that kind of reaction I was looking for, to be honest"_, she thought a little disappointed. Their exercise was to dissect a dead frog as their textbooks instructed. **(A/N: like in cartoons! :3)**

They decided that Garu would be the one cutting, and Pucca would guide him. Throughout the lesson they heard a 'not like that, Lily!', from the teacher.

"You don't stab the frog like that, Miss Lily!".

"What?", said girl shrugged. "I just wanted to see if it really was dead".

_Another_ face palming teacher...

Pucca purposely leaned closer to the spiky haired boy. "You're really good at that", she whispered.

"I've had some experience with knives".

She widened her azure eyes a little. Experience? What did he mean by that? Accidently her eyes met his again and she once again felt herself holding her breath. It only felt like seconds when she snapped out of it as people began to pass by her, and she shook her head in confusion.

"Oi, Pucca, what's the matter?".

Lily and Ching now stood next to her and when she turned her head back, she saw that Garu was gone. Once again, had he left her dumbstruck that week.

* * *

"I've lost my grip! That must be it! But how can he _not_ fall for me? I mean…", Pucca babbled on her way home with Ching and Lily. "…I haven't turned ugly, have I?".

"Oh, no, Pucca! Not at all! You're still really pretty-".

"If you weren't, ya think we really would be seen together with you-".

Ching hit the blonde on her shoulder.

"Ow! Oi, I was only joking!".

"You're not helping Pucca!".

"How can I help her, if she doesn't want to admit that she _has_ fallen in-".

"I have NOT fallen in love with Garu! He's just good looking, that's it!".

The girls stared at each other intensely, and then the blonde sighed, placing her hands behind her head.

"Sure ya aren't. See ya in school tomorrow". And with that she left.

_She doesn't believe me"_, the delivery girl thought. She turned to Ching.

"Ching, you do believe me, don't you?". The longhaired girl nervously looked down.

"Uh…I'm sorry, but whenever he's there, you space out and stare even when he has gone", she stroke a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "I…I have to give Lily right in this one…".

Pucca stared in disbelief at her best friend who now walked home. Her friends were beginning to question her, saying that she had a crush!

"_It all started once _he _came here…it's all his fault..!"._

As if spoken by the devil, a black haired guy walked slowly on the streets whom a certain pig tail haired girl instantly recognized. She got an idea to end all of this and see if she really had developed a small crush. So she followed him without him knowing, and hopefully wherever they came, they would be alone. Strangely enough, they approached the forest. Who lives in the forest?, Pucca thought. Nevertheless, she kept following him. They soon came to a house made of bamboo, when the sound of Garu's voice almost gave Pucca a heart attack.

"Are you gonna keep stalking me like that?".

The girl came out of her hiding place between the bushes, with crimson red cheeks.

"I-I wasn't stalking you!".

The boy raised an eyebrow as he smirked.

"Oh, really? What do you call it when a person keeps following another person without he or she knowing it?".

Pucca gulped hard. _"Stalking"._

"So, this is where you live, huh?", the girl asked, trying to change the subject. Her eyes wandered on the big and admirable house made of bamboo wood. Impressive.

"Yeah".

"Uh…what...what did you mean earlier by 'having experience in knives', huh?".

Garu walked near the house and when he came back, he was holding a sword in his hands. Pucca heard herself gasp a little.

"You're a swordsman!", she said more cheerfully than intended. The boy smirked.

"Actually, I'm a ninja. I get the best grades in kendo class and gym, _and_ until now have never been defeated-", he said, and then suddenly he stopped talking. He looked a bit paler but shook his head.

"Whatever. Why did you follow me, anyway?".

Pucca pointed a finger at him.

"Why haven't you confessed your love toward me?".

Silence spread as the teens stared at each other.

"Come again?".

"Why haven't you confessed your love toward me? Or just showed that you like me", she crossed her arms. He looked at her confused.

"Maybe because I don't?".

"Just because you're a heartbreaker yourself, doesn't mean that you can make every girl like you", Pucca said with her nose raised up. "I won't ever fall for you".

"Is that so?", Garu scratched his chin. "Then, why won't we see if I'm capable to change that, huh?".

"Just my thoughts", the delivery girl smirked. "The rules?".

"Whoever first declares their love first, has lost", the boy took out his hand. "Deal?".

"Deal", she said as she shook his hand. Garu then turned around and was about to enter his house, when he stopped.

"Oh, and one more thing. I'll be telling the whole school that you're stalking me", he smiled sweetly to the stunned Pucca. "May the best person win, Pucca".

The pig tail haired girl gasped as her face turned as red as her shirt. Clenching her fist, she spun on her heel as she went home, completely red face.

"He's definitely good".

* * *

**Me: Aaaaaaaaaand it begins. Hope it was a good & long chapter! I know that I haven't updated in a while, and I'm deeply sorry! Really I am!**

**Lily: And?**

**Me: I'll be quicker with the next chapter!**

**Ching: And? **

**Me: I'll bake y'all cookies!**

**Pucca: And?**

**Me: I…will give all of you 1.000.000 yen from Ring Ring's bank account!**

**Ring Ring: Good…wait, what?**

**Me: Catch me if you can! Have a great summer y'all! G'night!**


	6. The Art of Flirting

**Me: I'm so SORRY!**

**Lily: Why?**

**Me: (sobbing) I-I didn't keep my promise!**

**Lily: And why is that?**

**Me: I-I couldn't update because school started again, a-and my mom took my laptop and mobile, because I was writing too much! And now the chapter wasn't BIG! It's SMALL!**

**Lily: Aw ya poor thing.**

**Me: To make it up again, Garu will give out kisses to every fan girl out there! Say hello Garu!**

**Garu: Wait, what?**

**Me: Cookies, kisses and tons of yens! When do I get the luxury? Well, your reviews are at least appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, we all know that she doesn't own Pucca…**

**Me: What is that supposed to mean-**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Art of Flirting.**

Pucca wasn't ever nervous. She was never afraid to say her opinion, wasn't shy and known despite her sweet and cute appearance, that she was dominant and always got her way. Though, this was another thing. This wasn't good grades that she could easily get, or an argument that she could easily win. No, this was a guy's heart and this was anything but easy to catch. But once Pucca was determined to get something, she always got it. And Garu wasn't going to be any exception to this girl.

"_I just have to come up with a strategy",_ she thought. She was going to show Ching, Lily, all of them and especially that guy, so she never had to see his stupid face again! So she finally could move on with her perfect life like it had been before he'd appeared out of nowhere.

But what irritated her the most was how casual Garu was acting. While she was searching her brain for a way to make him like her, he was freaking doing nothing! Absolutely nothing than occasionally smiling sweetly whenever she glanced at him. It was driving her nuts more than he could imagine! She wanted to win so that she could watch that arrogant smirk fade away from his face! And she would do it with the greatest pleasure!

A couple of days had gone and nothing had changed. The delivery girl was currently doing her job as waitress at the restaurant and her head was feeling tired from thinking. The costumers could tell. Either she wasn't serving them their food because she was spacing out too much or she was eating their orders. The chefs weren't fond of this.

"Pucca, if you're feeling tired you can take a break, you know", Linguini said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"No, no, I-I can handle this…", she mumbled. A hand grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"Let me take care of the girl for ya", a familiar girl said. Pucca didn't register what was happening, but suddenly she was outside in the snow and wearing her coat and scarf.

"Leave me alone, Lily…", the waitress muttered tiredly.

"Nuh-uh", the blonde replied stubbornly. "You're acting like some sort of work-crazy ghost, and that ain't fun".

She looked at Pucca with hazel eyes full of concern. "We're best friends, Pucca", she said softly. "You know you can tell all your problems to aunt Lily here, right baby?".

"'Course, but…", Pucca said. "…what happened to Ching?".

The long-haired beauty Pucca was speaking of was sitting on a soft blue bike, gazing dreamily into the sky and humming a happy melody.

"Abyo happened", the blonde mumbled, trying to open the lock on her bike. "The dude finally had the balls to ask out Ching to Ring Ring's party, and she's been just as bad as you ever since".

The girls both sighed, one happy sigh and a deep sorrowful sigh. Lily clicked her tongue, glancing at both of them.

"Why do I always have to be the reasonable one?".

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA, girl", Lily said, her eyes as big as saucers. "You have got to be kidding, right?".

The pig tail haired girl hugged her knees tighter. They were in Ching's room, having permission to stay there weren't hard in Ching's spaced out condition.

"You're saying", the blonde began. "That the hottest guy in school and probably in town too, has agreed that the two of you are having some sort of bet that whoever first falls in love with the other has lost the whole thing?".

Pucca nodded.

"Which requires that you'll flirt?".

Pucca nodded again.

"Which means that you can basically do ANYTHING just to make him say that he likes you more than just a friend?".

Pucca nodded again.

"Girl, I envy you in every possible way there is".

Pucca sighed. "What's to envy?", she asked. "As things are now, he has the biggest chance to win and that means that I'm…defeated".

"Nuh-uh", the blonde said again. "Every guy likes you, Pucca! Why are you saying that shit to me?".

"Because…it's true".

"Bullshit!".

Lily tackled the waitress to the ground, so that they were rolling on the floor. Ching was watching TV, and was still her happy-go-lucky mood, so she didn't see anything.

"What are you doing!", Pucca exclaimed. Lily was on top of her, holding her wrist to keep her down.

"Take it back, Pucca! That's not you talking!".

"What do you know about that?", the waitress asked. "You've seen how relaxed he is, and how he doesn't notice anything I do!".

"I know it looks bad", Lily replied. "But the agreement sounded that whoever falls in love loses. So basically", she continued. "You'll only lose if you give up or if you fall in love with Garu".

Pucca's eyes widened while Lily's narrowed along with the smirk she grew. "And the Pucca I know would never give up".

Pucca smiled. "'Course she wouldn't".

"But", her friend said. "There's still something you need to do".

"And what is that?".

"Take Lily's quick lessons of romance", the girl wiggled her eyebrows.

"No way!", the waitress whined. "Why?".

"Because you've been used to boys flirting with you, Pucca, and not the other way around! If you want to make Garu like you, then you'd better learn quickly on how to do that", Lily posed in what seemed sexually. "Pucca, baby, I'm here to teach you the art of flirting".

Pucca, who was still under Lily, widened her eyes.

"You're kidding".

"Nope. This is one hundred percent seriousness".

"Do I really need to know how to flirt?".

"If you don't, Garu will win, ya know".

Fire began to blaze inside Pucca's azure eyes. "Not in this life!".

Lily began to whistle, and Pucca waited patiently.

"What?".

"Say it".¨

"Lily, I-".

"Say it".

"But-".

"Say it".

Pucca sighed. "Teach me, Master", she breathed out. Lily beamed with satisfaction.

"Now", she said and leaned in. "Pretend like I'm Garu".

"I can't without smashing your face in".

Lily raised a brow. "Really? Do you hate his guts that bad?".

"You have no idea".

"Okay", she said. "Control your indescribable anger, and pretend that I'm Garu".

"Okay", Pucca took a deep breath. "Then, what do I do first?".

"Look the guy in the eyes. Eye contact is a good thing".

Pucca couldn't make herself tell Lily that whenever she looked Garu in the eyes, she somehow always got lost in them. So she kept her mouth shut and looked her best friend in the eyes, pretending that she was Garu with those mysteriously black eyes…

"Then you slowly yet carefully lean in, don't make contact too quick but slow, that's makes him want to lean in as well…".

A delicate tanned hand placed itself at Pucca's cheek, the girl's eyes never leaving the other girl's eyes. Then her body unconsciously and slowly leaned closer in to 'Garu', her eyes now half-lidded. She could feel 'his' breath so close to her, 'his' body so close to hers and 'his' lips…

"GAAAAAAH!".

A shock went through the delivery girl as a girlish voice broke through, creating an awkward silence. There at the bed sat Ching, shocked, astonished and surprised all in one. Pucca knew exactly why; she and Lily were lying on the floor, Lily on top of Pucca and they were just about to kiss!

"W-what are you guys d-doing..?", she asked timidly. Lily grew her signature smile as usual.

"Didn'cha know? Pucca just confessed her lesbian love to me, and you were just interrupting some wild make out-session-".

"WE DID NOT MAKE OUT!".

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry, I-I'll j-just b-be g-going..!", Ching replied with spirals as eyes, rushing out of the bedroom. That left a blushing Pucca, and a laughing-her-ass-out Lily on the floor.

"Lily!".

"Oh, it's good to have both of you back!", she grinned.

"So, that is how to flirt, huh?".

"Well, it has always worked out for me, so I guess so".

"Guess? I thought you were the expert on this subject!".

"No, no, no, I'm ain't no expert", the blonde grinned. "I just needed a way to wake both of you up from your ghost-form".

* * *

**Me: Well, I thought that this was a funny little clip from Lily's side, and now that I've got my laptop back, I will soon make a new chapter! YAY!**

**Lily: You promise?**

**Me: Promise! I'm a woman of my words!**

**Pucca: I hate you! You embarrassed me! Again!**

**Me: Well, you're luckier than Ching! The poor girl is terrified for life!**

**Lily: That was pure awesomeness.**

**Me: Sure it was. Now WHERE ARE MY REVIEWS? **

**Reviews will be appreciated much and will encourage me to make another chapter. No reviews will make me sad and depressed, giving me no courage to make another.**

**Me: Now do you want an chapter or what, boys n' girls?**


	7. Party Rock

**Me: I think I owe you guys an apology for not updating, but I had TONS of writers block, and I HAD to figure something out, so here's what I've been wanting to give you.**

**Lily: Make some humor and I might consider reading this.**

**Me: You no reviewer, so I no listen to you!**

**Garu: Oh, great, she's speaking her own language again.**

**Me: Why you be meanie, Garu? You no fun!**

**Pucca: Speak properly, you dork!**

**Me: Aww…but I like talking like this…**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Party Rock.**

Ching was in such a happy mood today.

It wasn't only because it was weekend, so that she didn't have to worry about school and assignments. Or the fact that it wasn't as cold outside as it usually were. No, it was the _exact_ Saturday where Ring Ring had decided to throw her party. Lily, Pucca and her had decided to dress up at Lily's house. Yes, they were talking about _Lily's house_. They'd never been there before, let alone _seen_ it, so the black-haired sword-fighter was quite curious, not to mention extremely excited.

There were two things that wondered her. The first thing was what had happened at her own house. She'd been on cloud-seven because Abyo had asked her out, and after that she couldn't quite remember what she'd done that day. Which was unfair because, the image of Pucca and Lily _nearly_ kissing had been stuck into her brain ever since.

Another thing was…

"_So, have you decided what to wear at the party yet?", Lily asked, drinking a can of Pepsi. Ching beamed._

"_Oh, yes! I've found the most __cute__ outfit ever!"._

"_Are you guys still planning to go", Pucca asked, a hint of annoyance audible in her voice. Lily smirked._

"_And you still won't go?"._

"_Pretty much"._

"_Sure?"._

"_Yup"._

"_One hundred percent sure?"._

"_**Yes**__, I'm sure"._

"_Really-"._

"_**I'm **__**not going, Lily!**__"._

"_Cuz, I've heard from a guy I know, who heard it from a friend of his…"._

_Pucca crossed her arms, waiting for the point._

"…_that a certain __**Garu**__ is going to the party too"._

After that Pucca who'd said that she wouldn't go, had now changed her mind. She would be going too, but she had looked uncomfortably at the floor while tugging some hair behind her ear, saying that if it was too boring, she'd go home. Ching thought that she'd missed something, but shrugged it off. She was happy that both her best friends would be going with her.

She was currently riding on her bike to the location Lily had given her, a white plastic bag in her handlebar basket with her newly-bought clothes. When she'd spotted a house that pretty much looked like what her blonde friend had described, she placed her bike outside and politely knocked onto the wooden door.

Lily opened the door. "'Sup, Ching".

"Hi Lily!", Ching said cheerfully and stepped inside. Pucca came out in the hallway holding a little child's hand and waved. It was black-haired and brown-eyed, and looked only to be a year old.

"Hi Pucca! Aww, and who's the little fellow?", Ching almost squealed. Lily stood beside it and lifted the child, but Pucca was still holding its hand.

"His name is Kengo", Lily smiled widely. "He's _our_ child".

Ching felt her entire head get beat red, and she began to stammer as well. "Y-y-your ch-ch-child? O-oh G-God…".

Pucca smacked Lily on the head, but that didn't stop her laughter. "I told you _not_ to do that to Ching!".

"Priceless", the blonde wiped away a tear in the corner of her eye. She breathed in deeply. "I'm just messing with ya, Ching, he's just my nephew".

"Oh", the sword-fighter said and the red color began to fade away from her face.

"I'm just gonna keep an eye on him, 'till my aunt pick him up an hour before we'll leave".

"I think he likes me", Pucca smiled, playing with Kengo's fingers, which caused him to give her a toothless smile.

* * *

Later…

"So", Lily said. "Personally, I think we look pretty good".

Ching was wearing a pale violet sleeveless shirt with straps and small purple butterflies imprinted to it, which showed off her shoulders, gray tight jeans and dark blue ballerina shoes. Her bangs were hidden away by the white headband on her head with an indigo ribbon, and the rest of her hair was in a big, tight ponytail. On each wrist she had a silver pair of bracelets. Simple, adorable and cute.

Lily was wearing a pale yellow shirt with a loose dark tie and gray shorts held up by suspenders, and white/black sneakers. On her head was a dark green cap and she was wearing golden loop earrings along with white wristbands. Original, and tomboyish but cool.

Pucca was wearing a short, deep red Chinese dress which covered her thighs with an imprint of a panda, had bare legs and long pitch-black leather boots, and for once her hair was loose and not in pigtails. Her ears showed silver heart earrings. Stylish, rich but yet beautiful.

"So, since Kengo left like half an hour ago", the blonde said. "I guess that gives us the freedom to party as much as we want tonight!".

A knock on the door was heard and Ching squealed in delight and excitement when she ran to get the door.

"And Abyo seems to want to join us", Pucca grinned.

Later…

Abyo drove the girls to the mini mansion of Ring Ring's house, and from the looks of it the party had already begun. The Techno music was so loud, that the vibrations could be felt on the ground below them. Seeing all the cars resting in her parking lot made it appear like she'd invited the _entire_ school. Eventually, they found an okay spot to park the car, and entered the big house. Huge ghetto blasters could be seen some places, outside from where the big pool was, a long table with snacks and refreshments with most likely the guys eating from there, and some people were showing off their dancing skills in beat with the Techno.

"Alright!", the blonde exclaimed, running towards the food-stand along with the guys.

"Wanna dance?", Abyo winked to his dark-haired date. A noticeable blush dusted her cheeks, but she smiled cheerfully. "Sure!".

They both walked over to the dancing couples, leaving Pucca behind all for herself. She fetched a drink for herself which was a small class of fine champagne (Ring Ring wasn't going to lay it down anytime soon that she was rich) and sat down on a small colored couch. _Why did I even come along? _Of course Pucca liked to party with her friends on a regular basis, but she couldn't party _here_. Her guards were already up, her instincts reading to sense anything and she let her azure eyes scan the area with narrowed eyes and tensed shoulders.

Where was _he_? The reason why she'd come. Not like she wanted to be close to him, no, no, sitting next to him in class was enough contact for her, let alone playing that stupid act in class where he was her _Romeo_. The perky teacher had set her up for that one; she wasn't going to forget that.

After her fifth bobbly drink, she was bored and decided to go around and see where he was. Her eyes caught sight of Ring Ring with her glossy waves of blue hair, who smiled heartily her way. Pucca waved back, holding back a groan. When she walked past the food-table, she noticed a couple of eyes who were glued to her. She smirked, which the faded. Why couldn't _Garu_ be like that, huh? She mentally growled and continued to walk.

When she went inside she saw a couple of teens making out in the corners, or throwing alcohol on each other, wetting the floor and furniture in the process.

The delivery girl was almost going to quit her search for the jerk, since she knew that her blue-haired rival probably had a hundred rooms, and what was the chances that she would find him? Most likely with a girl or something…

The thought made her want to get sick, why, she didn't know. On her way, she noticed that she was walking funny and her eyelids felt slightly heavy. But she ignored that when she went outside again to get some air, but not at the party, no, she went to an empty balcony where the wind was caressing her silky straight hair.

Pucca saw a being from down under the balcony. She concentrated hard on figuring out who it was, but the figure turned and locked its eyes on her.

"Can't keep your eyes from me, huh, Ms. Stalker-of-the-Year?".

Pucca had to keep her mouth shut from gasping loud that moment. There he was! And he was accusing her of stalking him! **Again!**

"_I was NOT stalking you_!", a girl with beet red face answered. She took off from the edge and landed smoothly on the ground, being strong as she was, she didn't feel pain or anything. Her fists were tensed as she saw the appearance of Garu, smirking.

"Sure you weren't".

"_Why_ would I stalk you? I don't even like you!".

"Aww", he said, faking a sad look. "That wasn't nice, y'know".

"Good, 'cause I never meant to be nice in the first place".

"No, you just wanted me to be your love-slave, like the rest of the male students at school".

"Oh, like you're one to talk!".

Garu shrugged and left, but no, Pucca wasn't done talking.

"Come back here, Playboy, I'm not done with to you!".

She pulled his gray T-shirt while she slipped in some of the snow, causing him to fall as well with her. They both fell, but with Garu under and Pucca above. He cursed under his breath and wondered after a couple of minutes why she didn't rise. When he looked, he saw something that made him really surprised. She'd fallen asleep on his chest, with her dark hair around her like a curtain, her hands under her head and her warm body on his. A small blush rose on his cheeks and he was grateful that she was sleeping.

_Is she really that drunk?_

Suddenly, a couple of guys came out, each holding a girl around their arms.

"Dude, is that Pucca?", a guy grinned. "Did you guys really make out that hard?", he asked, then gave a thumb up as the other guys laughed along. Garu was now red as Pucca's dress.

"Aw, go to hell".

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Remember to review! I love 'em!**


	8. Break Time

**Hey, Everyone, Theanimekitty89 here :3**

**Yeah, I've got some major bad news…**

**Well, here's the deal, um, I'm in ninth-grade, and my teachers have discussed together, and come to the conclusion that I'm ready for High School. Y'know, here you need the teachers' permission.**

**Yaaaaay…and then again, not.**

**Sure, I nailed Geography and English like a badass ninja, with the help of FanFiction but I have to make up for Danish, Math and German. I have been told THOUSANDS of time that I have to speak up more often and raise my arm and that kind of stuff.**

**And here's the bad part…**

**I'll stop writing FanFiction for a while, and then go on to studying. And I KNOW that it sucks, but hey, maybe in year 2013 I'll continue from where I left. I just hope that you'll forgive me and not give up on this story, 'cause sooner or later I'll definitely make a sequel. I know that its totally unfair since I haven't made a chapter in...forever, but I'm terribly sorry.**

**Written with TONS of love; your Authoress Theanimekitty89 who'll now be going to High School. **


	9. Gosh, was I really that drunk?

**Hello, again! The vacation is halfway through, and I posted mother-of-all chapters the day before yesterday! It's in the Storm Hawks category, and I thought I owed my readers it since I left them on a bad spot. Well, I also owe you guys a chapter before the next vacation I have (which is in the Christmas period) so here it is! I hope you all know how much I appreciate your reviews! I love you all! Now, with all the mushy stuff in the way, I think it's time to know what happened after Ring Ring's party.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Gosh was I really that drunk?**

If Pucca could ask for anything right now, she would wish that she hadn't drunken so much alcohol at Ring Ring's party. That was Lily's thing to regret that. She would call Pucca and complain about how bad her hangovers were and that she'd never ever drink again. Usually that would be a lie, and the next day you'd find her with a beer and she'd say she never meant it. But, this girl knew when to stop, so that she was sober enough to leave in a proper manner and she didn't want any douchebags to take advantage of her in such a weak state.

When the dreaded sunlight hit her and she had to_ move_ in order to protect her face, so with a sloppy move, she managed to grab the nearby pillow and cover up her head. Wait. The teen quickly scrambled to sit up, and then cursed herself for the dizziness that came as a result. She timidly opened her azure eyes to stare upon her red & pink bedroom. She let out a breath of relief, finding herself in her own room and not some creepy guy's room. But she frowned a little; she didn't recall leaving the party and ending up in her own house. It could have been the others who transported her home, after she'd passed out.

"Uuuuh, my head's gonna explode soon, I can feel it", Pucca said, and fell back in her bed. Sunday was going to get painful.

* * *

If Garu could ask for anything, it would be that dreams could just be peaceful ones. You know, where you could just let your mind and body rest in eight _freaking _hours so you didn't have to feel like shit the next day, not to mention being bitchy for every person who didn't seem to get that you were in a bad mood. Unfortunately, fate decided to troll with this ninja and made him dream a very (ahem) disturbing dream that left him sweating and panting when he finally managed to wake up. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed in relief and then groaned in annoyance when he remembered who his dream was about. _Her._

Amazing how she could make him feel this way was the fact the she only slept onto his chest. He cursed himself for letting his guards down like that. If every female could get through his defenses like that, his days as ninja might be over. He got into a sitting position and stared on his clock; 5:00. If it wasn't because he was a fighter who usually woke up this early to practice, he would've tossed his device into the wall like any other teenager. Especially on a freaking Sunday. But morning practice would probably help him calm down his nerves, and forget him ever_ imagining_ seeing Pucca in short tight-fitting clothes on his bed, a seducing look in her eyes…

"_Garu_", the teenager thought sadly. "_You're slowly, but surely turning into a pervert_".

* * *

"'Morning sunshine", Pucca smirked by the sight of the blonde approaching her Monday morning. Her face looked slightly pale and she walked slowly. "Slept good?".

"Worst. Hangover. Ever", were the three words she let out, before hitting her forehead on her locker. The delivery-girl sighed, it wasn't usual to see Lily like this. She took out her math books, and watched her turn her locker combination with slow turns.

"So, mind telling me what's wrong?".

"Everything", she yawned. "I had the worst Sunday ever, and I thought I could just as well lie down and die".

"Does that mean you'll lay down alcohol for a while?".

Lily opened her locker with a grin. "No way in hell".

Pucca shook her head. "The worst thing about yesterday was that I kept thinking about something. But it didn't help that my head felt like shit, though".

"Kept thinking about what?".

"This", the blonde teen said and pulled down the shirt front of her black top. There on her usual tanned throat, was a red mark near her collar bone. Pucca blinked. "A hickey?".

"Yeah, and I can't think back on who gave me it!", Lily exclaimed and slammed the locker shut. "It has got to be a hot guy; otherwise I'm really done with alcohol".

Before Pucca could even comment on that, the two teens saw a black-haired girl with a very thick scarf wrapped around her. She waved towards the two girls.

"Hi girls", the girl greeted, with the scarf covering her mouth.

"Uh, hey, Ching", Pucca greeted back, a bit suspicious.

"It's not that cold to be wearing that much clothes, Chi-Chi", Lily said with a knowing smirk. "The teach would probably tell ya to take it off inside class, y'know".

"I-I don't mind!", Ching said and opened her locker, gazing downwards. "I caught a cold, so I don't wanna spread it any further, okay?".

"Okay", Pucca said and gave the blonde friend a glance. They both nodded and grabbed the sword-fighter's arms both. Luckily, that there weren't any students at the hallway. "What are you guys doing!".

"Ya can't lie for us, Ching", Lily smirked and loosened the scarf so that you could see what lied behind. The tanned girl whistled. "Damn, I'd like to know who gave you all those, Chi-Chi".

Pucca grinned and let go of their friend, who instantly placed both her hands on around her throat, and blushed deeply. "I don't know what you're talking about!".

"Oh, we think you do", Pucca said and wiggled her brows at Ching. "Either the two of you must've drunken way too much…".

"…or you're more a wild animal than we thought, if ya know what I-".

"Yes, fine, I know what you mean!", Ching blushed even more. She removed her neck, to show a couple of bruises and marks. "I just got too much to drink and things sort of…ran out of control".

"Damn straight it did, I would like to find out if ya gave Abyo a matching pair of love bites~".

"Lily!", Ching cried, then snatched her scarf back with a pout. Pucca rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Does that mean that you're finally a couple?".

Ching brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess so".

"Awesome! That has to be celebrated!-".

Two glances from the friends made Lily change her mind.

"-non-alcoholic celebration, then".

"Good. 'Cause the play we're going to perform is soon, and I don't want any hangovers to ruin that".

"Oh, I'm sure Garu wouldn't mind a drunk Pucca as his Juliet, so don't worry".

* * *

"_What's wrong with me?_".

Garu was strolling down the hallway on his way to get his book, listening to music from his IPod as always. He was turning his locker combination in, only to be disturbed by a giggle from nearby. He sighed deeply; one of his fan girls this early in the morning? He turned his head to find the source; the pigtail haired beauty who was his love-rival was chatting to her friends, teasing one of them till she blushed a deep crimson. Garu thought she looked differently when she was with her friends; so carefree, not trying to get his attention for once, and most of all…herself. He thought that suited her the most, since he was used to girls doing everything to make him notice them. Garu stole a glance from her smiling face, and thought back on the last time he saw her this peaceful…

…and then blushed. He who was as emotionless as a rock was now blushing out of nowhere. And why was this; all because of a fucking dream. Pathetic. He hid behind his locker to cover up for this. The weird thing was that he couldn't get what happened at the party out of his head. She just fell and being that gentleman he was, he caught her but he hadn't expected to find himself in that awkward position. And this is where the weird part comes in; whenever he thought of that, he'd either get totally out of character and blush like a school-girl or stutter like a _shy_ schoolgirl. Totally wasn't his thing, but some girls might find that _cute_. Though, Garu did't want to be acknowledged as cute at all.

Suddenly he felt an arm wrap itself around his neck, but he didn't need to see who it was, no he already knew.

"Hey, Garu, whatcha looking at?".

"Nothing", he muttered and was grateful that the red color from his face had faded away. Abyo grinned.

"I hope you ain't staring at my new girlfriend or anythin', dude".

"Don't worry, seeing as the rumor around here says you and Ching are late bloomers, I wouldn't want to get between you guys now that you're finally together".

"Late bloomer?", Abyo repeated with a puzzled face. "Really?".

The spiky-haired boy rolled his eyes. "You can lay a move on _any_ girl with the exception of Ching, so yeah, pretty much".

"Whatever. But who _are_ you staring at?", the kung-fu fighter asked and glanced around.

"It couldn't be-".

"_No_, I'm not looking for a relationship with Lily. C'mon, we're late for class-".

"Wait, wait, wait, WAIT!", Abyo said and pulled Garu back. A wide grin was visible on his face.

"It's Pucca, isn't it?".

Once again, the fact that he _blushed_, told Abyo more than thousands words.

"Dude!", he grinned. "You like Pucca!".

"Do not!", Garu instantly said, trying to save some dignity.

"Do too".

"Do not!".

"Then, why're ya blushing?".

"'Cause…", Garu said, then tried to find a good excuse. "'Cause your questions are too ridiculous. You coming?".

Abyo rolled his eyes with a knowing smirk. "I'm right behind ya, Garu".

Said boy had to use a lot of willpower to not growl out of nowhere. He and his friend left the hallway just as the girls were ready to leave as well. A boring class with algebra lied ahead, and after that would be practice with their play. Some of them would have to skip their turns, so that they could help to make their costumes and such things. Already now it was a strict rule that everyone should be more or less capable of remembering their lines, and so they would act without their manuscript. But the most important characters had to practice while those who only stood in the background and with fewer lines had to work. Ching and Lily were showing results; if they'd somehow forgotten what to say, they would just improvise. The whole battle between Mercutio and Tybalt was pretty fun, showing that Lily was a great actor to play dead and since both she and Abyo were good fighters, they were both good at making the sword-fight look believable.

But Garu wasn't doing well in his roles with Pucca. He couldn't hold her hand, or look her in the eyes, or hug her with the same neutral expression as always, and that wasn't good at all. If Pucca was to notice this…

"_Then the tables would be turned_", Garu thought and swallowed hard. "_And she would take advantage of this to make _me _lose the bet_".

But luckily for him, she didn't have a clue. Though, she did notice that he wasn't his usually cool him recently and that made her frown. "_Should I…take the risk to make a move..?_".

And so she did, when the scene where Juliet and Romeo first meet, the delivery-girl relaxed and tried to see things as Juliet would.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss", Garu said, luckily that he didn't stutter once. Pucca clasped her hands before her chest and looked deeply into the amethyst-dark eyes of the guy before her.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss", she spoke almost like a whisper, her azure eyes never breaking contact with the amethyst ones.

The spiky-haired ninja was a little taken back by this, but hid his uneasiness nevertheless. "_Has she figured it out yet..?_".

The play continued and thanks to them being quicker than expected, they got the opportunity to either help out with the preparations or do homework. The girls gushed over the dresses they were going to wear, and they worked intensely on making everyone's perfect.

"Make my costume look like an old time knight with a dark blue vest!", Lily pumped her fist determined into the air with her one foot on a chair and stars in her eyes. "I'm gonna look so cool on the stage with my sword and all~!".

"Get down, Knight, shut up and work like the rest of us", Pucca pulled her down, like a strict mother telling her child to calm down. She noticed that she needed some red sewing thread to her own dress and noticed some lying on the desk next to Garu and his friends. She took the opportunity where they were chatting to lean on the desk and take the red sewing thread and smiled sweetly in return.

"Hey, I'm just gonna borrow this for a sec, oh, and by the way", she flashed her pearly-white teeth. "You did great today as my Romeo".

Pucca's heart did an uncharacteristic happy-dance inside herself, when she actually show some results when Garu turned many different shades of red after she spoke. She waved, walked back to the girls and then felt a tap on her shoulder as she sat down. Turning her head, she noticed a frown on Ching's face.

"What?".

"Uh, you might want to consider…_saving_ this shirt for some other day".

"Oh, and why is that so?", Pucca laid a hand on her hip, thoughtfully.

"'Cuz it's flashing a lot of things that shouldn't be seen in daylight, if y'know what I mean", Lily commented. Taking out a small mirror, Pucca widened her eyes to see her shirt hanging loosely down upon her shoulders. It was supposed to hang on her shoulders, but not _that_ down and now a good piece of her black bra was visible. Pucca shrieked and her hands flew up to cover the tomato-red face of hers when she realized _why_ Garu had blushed.

"_He saw my breasts when I leaned down on the desk..! Oh, God, how embarrassing!_".

"Why didn't _any_ of you tell me?", Pucca growled towards Lily. The blonde smirked calmly.

"I thought I was supposed to sit down, shut up and work like the rest..?".

"Oh, don't worry, you're still supposed to do that", Pucca said in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, pulled her shirt front up, crossed her arms and was trying hard to shut out the grin, that Lily so hopelessly tried to prevent from bursting out loud.

* * *

**Well, I hope we'll get to Garu's past someday (I deleted the summary and made a new one, also I had fun searching through many pictures to find this one ^.^) and go on from there. Hopefully, it will be soon be Valentine's Day (not really) and something will bloom, and I ain't talking 'bout the flowers. Hope you enjoyed me writing some awkwardness, I did. (a little) Also, can any of you help me about Romeo and Juliet, excuse me for the language but I don't know shit about Shakespeare and I hope you can help me 'cause I can't understand the weird language they're speaking. Also, on another note…do you guys want me to rate this M instead of T? I mean, I'm not a hentai-loving writer, and I've never written anything close to hentai or under/above T, but…the ending might get a little hot so just in case like a warning…should I? Or should it be a safe T? See y'all till Christmas, my dear readers, for you I will try to make my grades better.**


	10. Some Rivals WILL Always Be Rivals

**You know what? I have something y'all need to hear: Don't ever listen to what I say. Ever. Happy Eid to everyone who knows what I'm talking 'bout! (If not, here's the deal: it's a Muslim holiday that is celebrated twice a year) and here's the other deal; I got two free days extra, so I whipped up a new chapter! And remember that from now on, I'll post chapters whenever I have time, but I'll have a better possibility to update **_**all**_** my stories on holidays. You guys said you couldn't wait till the next release and I'll admit that I couldn't either! So here's the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Some Rivals WILL Always Be Rivals**

"Pucca, there's a costumer who has waited for his food for fifteen minutes!".

"Pucca, there are complains about too slow service! Hurry up!".

"Pucca, the amounts of bowls over here is growing! When are you intending to _serve_ them?".

"I'm _coming_, I'm _trying_, and I'm gonna _serve_ them alright!".

Said girl was flying from one direction to another, dropping steamy hot bowls and then went back to the kitchen to get new ones. Her uncles were getting on her nerves by saying she was slowing down; did she have the power to decrease the amount of customers? And the crowd wasn't getting any smaller, because whenever a person left the restaurant, another came in. An hour and a half had passed and Pucca was practically sweating in exhaustion on going from one place to another all the time. She had succeeded to make some of the costumers leave, and now she could finally allow herself to rest a little. Panting, she literally fell onto the chair, trying to control her breathing.

"_Uh, I have to start doing morning-training again_", she thought sourly. "_Or else I'm going to continue getting exhausted like this too easily in the near future. Wouldn't want_ that".

"Pucca! Table seven want their noodles now, y'know!".

She sighed out deeply in annoyance, and rose herself from the chair. "_Coming_".

She had just picked up the noodles when a soft feeling brushed her ankle lightly. It was a weird feeling, but seconds later, Pucca found the whole building turning upside down, when she turned and fell down. It was an awkward fall, not only because it was embarrassing, but also because her body had landed rather painfully. She cried out in pain, and soon heard the crashing sound of breaking bowls; along with feeling the sharp pieces hit her. Her uncles who had heard her soon came to her aid.

"Pucca!", Linguini exclaimed in worry. "What happened? Are you in pain?".

She opened the eyes that had been clenched in pain. "Ouch…yeah, my body's sore, but it hurts mostly here", she pointed downwards on her feet. When one of the three chefs touched her right foot, she winced and inhaled air sharply through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, it's that one", she said. The three uncles nodded in agreement.

"We must bring you to see a doctor. Meanwhile, we'll close Goh-Rong".

While the three chefs were surrounding Pucca to help carrying her, a presence wearing a thick yet stylish coat rose from the chair he/she was sitting on, and put the money on the table next to his/her bill before exiting the building with an impish smile.

* * *

"No, no, no, _no_, you _can't_ be serious!", A pigtail haired girl exclaimed in astonishment and folded her arms. "This can't be happening!"

"Please, Miss Pucca, you must understand that you fell pretty badly and you are not capable of walking properly-".

"I already know that. No, I mean that you can't be serious about me having to use _crutches_ for three weeks!".

The female doctor was sighing softly and placing both hands in front of her desk. "Well, since your right ankle is out of function due to a minor sprain, it will need that you keep it steady for at least three weeks to fully recover. You should be grateful that you didn't break anything".

"I would be grateful if I got another doctor", Pucca muttered under her breath, with her crossed arms tightening slightly.

"Don't be so immature, Pucca".

* * *

The next day showed up to be quite awkward. Pucca was taking twice as long as before with everything, and often ended up tripping herself when she tried to hurry up.

"_Forget the morning-training, having to walk with these sticks makes it exercise when going to the bathroom_", she thought in annoyance. She had just finished her bowl of cereal when a knock was heard at the front door.

"Coming!".

She grabbed the crutches and her school-bag, walked through the kitchen, and almost lost her balance when she had to turn the doorknob. Irritated, she blew the bangs away from her face, and opened up to see her two best friends.

"Whoa", Ching said when she saw the bandage around Pucca's foot. "What happened to you?".

The waitress sighed with slumped shoulders. "An accident at Goh-Rong left me with no other choice than to use _crutches_ for the next three weeks, that's what _happened_".

"You okay?".

"Yeah, yeah", Pucca waved at them. "It's cool and all, just a big pain in the neck, but I'll get used to the drill eventually. So we going or what?".

"We can wait for ya".

"You're warned girls; this is gonna take _all_ day", Pucca said, as they all started walking.

* * *

The three girls were chatting to each other on their way to the cafeteria. While they sat down on their regular table, Pucca's azure eyes randomly landed on a blue-haired girl who smiled sweetly their way with a small wave of her hand. Pucca knew from the bottom of her heart that something was off about that.

"Is it _possible_ that…", Pucca trailed off, then glanced at her friends with a questioning brow raised. "… there's a change of Ring-Ring becoming less snobby and more…friendly recently..?".

"Oh yeah", Lily said and gulped down a mouthful of chicken-salad. "The possibility is just as big as me making a hole-in-one, into a golf-hole in Miami. And I suck at golf".

"Seriously. She's inviting me to parties. She's smiling towards me every time I look at her. She's even complimenting my clothes. It's kinda freaking me out".

"Isn't it a good thing?", Ching asked, finally taking her head away from her mobile after numerous of text-messages. "Ring-Ring's actually being nice for a change. I thought you wanted her to notice you, or even know that you existed".

"It's not like I'm desperate after her attention", Pucca frowned. "It's just annoying when she purposely thinks and acts like you're air to her, when she in reality isn't better than any of us".

"Yeah, well, maybe it's a sick part of her schedule to mock everyone. I could just imagine her writing in her little princess diary about her evil actions", the blonde suggested, with a shrug.

Pucca threw one last glance on their conversation-topic. "I suppose I should let it lie, shouldn't I? Thinking about it too much will just make me go crazy".

"Speaking of people making you go _crazy_-".

"Uh, In case you wouldn't want chicken-salad all over your head, letting the topic _lie_, would be a smart choice".

"Food spoiler", Lily said, before finishing her meal. Ching giggled from a text but whined a little when the blonde teen snatched her mobile away.

"Uuuuuuh, gee, I wonder what _naughty_ stuff have you and Abyo been texting 'bout..?".

"Gimme it back! It's none of your business!".

* * *

Pucca was staying as the last one after their last class with their perky teacher, Mrs. Morrison. She wanted to explain to her teacher about her condition, that she couldn't play Juliet in their play because of her injury. The teacher was humming happily while shuffling some sheets of paper in a nice pile, when Pucca stepped in front of the desk.

"What can I do for you, Pucca?", she asked, taking her glasses off to polish it.

"Well, it's about the act of Romeo and Juliet. Since I'm-".

"Don't bother explaining it to me, dear Pucca; I have already been informed about this incident".

Pucca widened her eyes a little. "Huh?".

"Ring-Ring was kind enough to tell me that you unfortunately had had an accident and that you was incapable of continuing your role as Juliet, so she came with a wonderful suggestion!", the teacher explained with a smile. Pucca stiffened by hearing her rival's name.

"What?", she breathed out in question, but the teacher took it as an invitation to continue further.

"She wanted to take on the role herself as Juliet", Mrs. Morrison replied. Pucca smashed her palms against the wooden table, granted she didn't use all her strength or it would've shattered in an instant. Her eyes were wide open as well.

"What!".

"Is that a problem?", the perky teacher tilted her head with a question-mark.

"_Damn straight it is!"._

"Yeah! Why wasn't I informed about this decision, I didn't agree to any of this!", Pucca exclaimed.

"Well, Ring-Ring suggested this and I didn't see any problem with it. She performed a scene for me and to be honest; she left me absolutely flabbergasted!", the teacher continued and held a hand before her forehead, which made the pigtail haired girl roll her eyes. "Her skills as an actor were amazing for someone so young, and seeing as you are unable to perform yourself, I think it is a great idea!".

"But you didn't tell me!", Pucca exploded. "If you knew this was some great idea, then you could at least tell me!".

"Oh, but Ring-Ring told me that she'd already taken care of that".

Pucca had to hold down a growl of frustration, as she took her crutches and left the classroom, not to mention a confused teacher. She would've stamped, and run if her foot hadn't picked the worst time to get injured. Instead, she had put on the worst scowl imaginable, making every student at the hallway back away in fear of getting 'the wrath of Pucca'. Briefly, she noticed that her shoulder had collided into someone listening to music and drinking cacao, but her anger clouded her mind and she left the student without saying 'sorry'.

Her azure eyes locked on a certain bluenette who was currently taking out books from her locker, and she had to hold herself down from yelling things that could make her end at the principal's office. But that didn't keep her fist from smashing hardlt into the locker next to Ring-Ring's, making said girl frown slightly.

"Must you always seek to violence, Pucca?", she said, and placed her hand on her cheek. Pucca more than ever wanted to _slap_ that cheek.

"_What the hell is your __**problem**_?".

"My problem? I don't recall having any problems involving you, Pucca".

"You hate my guts just as much as you hate fake designer clothes, admit it, you _lying_ daddy's-girl! Why must you make my life _hell_?".

Ring Ring didn't seem to be offended by that at all. She merely neared Pucca and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Honestly, don't you think that Juliet should at least be represented by someone pretty? Or even talented, for God sake?", she said lowly, so that no one else caught their conversation. She smirked when seeing Pucca turning angrier. "I think I ought to at least try to save your class act by taking you out, Pucca. After all; Mrs. Morrison thinks that I'm a better choice, anyway".

"If you knew that I'd screw things up, wouldn't it be better to let the entire school see it? Why _freaking_ hurt me in public just to get my role?".

"Don't get me wrong; I would love to see you screw up at the big scene, but there's another reason why I'm participating in this act of yours", the bluenette said and refreshed her pink lip-gloss in the mirror in her locker. Pucca didn't even have to think the reason over, before saying it loud: _"Garu"_.

"Yes, it's him I want. You have a problem with that? After all, I've heard that you and him are flirting from time to time with each other"..

"So what? You have a problem with that?", Pucca said, using her opponent's own words against her. Ring Ring's hair was slightly turning redder and redder. There were no one left at the hallway, if anything was to happen.

"I don't like that tone of yours, Pucca, and I don't like that game of yours either. I _will_ get to Garu, whether you like it or not. And in your condition, I wouldn't want to risk getting me pissed off in the near future", Ring Ring smirked. "Besides, it wasn't like there were anything between the two of you, so giving him to me shouldn't be hard, should it?".

"You talk like he's some kind of _toy_", Pucca said boldly, not even knowing why she said what she was saying. "He's a human being like the rest of us. You don't_ know_ if he's gonna fall into your little traps".

"Pl-_ease_", Ring Ring laughed. "We're not all amateurs like you. I _do_ knowhow to get what I want".

The teen walked away with satisfaction, and leaving an angry Pucca behind. _"It was her doing from the beginning! Trying to show me her 'sweet-side', only so she could stab me from behind. And I can't believe that she got to me even though I knew something was off". _

Pucca went outside, the cold wind hitting her, and she realized that she was incredibly hungry. She felt like a fool for getting into all this, for Ring-Ring getting that satisfaction from catching her off guard, for feeling so vulnerable.

"_And on top of that, I even defended Garu a little"_, Pucca glanced up into the clouded sky. A bit of the blue sky from behind the sky was visible, and she sighed out deeply. _"And I don't even feel bad for doing _that_. That's always something"._

She heard footsteps from behind and while her body immediately spun around in order to find out who it was, her mind was thinking: _Gaaaah! I still haven't recovered yet!_

Her weight forced her body down when she tripped, and she instinctively grabbed onto the fabric of whoever stood behind her. With her eyes closed, she heard the sounds of her crutches falling to the snowy ground, and waited until she had regained balance, before steadying herself, and readying an apology to the stranger. When azure eyes opened again, she had them widened by the sight of a spiky-haired, guy with a light smirk.

"Falling for me once again, eh?".

"Oh, shut up".

He grabbed her by the wrists and helped her steadying herself, then bended down to retrieve the crutches which he handed her back. She took them back with a small pout.

"Thank you".

"What was that about anyway?".

Pucca stiffened once again.

"What was what about?".

"That whole rage-thing. A dark aura was practically surrounding you when you stormed over to Ring-Ring", he shrugged. "So, what happened?".

She didn't have to tell him anything, but strangely enough, she felt herself slump down her shoulders, and sighing deeply in sorrow.

"Nothing big, I guess. That girl just knows how to push my buttons, that's all".

"I could see that", Garu commented. "You got yourself injured?".

"That…", Pucca was going to defend herself, say that it was all Ring-Ring's doing, but decided to just shut up about it. "…was kinda my fault. And expect your next History-lessons to be different, 'cause Ring-Ring will be your new Juliet now".

"Is that so?", Garu said rather flatly. If Pucca didn't know better, she would've sworn that he sounded a tad…disappointed. A feeling snapped her back to reality, and she felt Garu ruffling her hair playfully.

"What are you doing?".

"Lighten up, it's not the end of the world, y'know", he replied. "I do admit that with Ring-Ring being a part of everything, it could make things more boring".

When he realized how that sounded, he quickly added. "But don't think that I'll be missing you or anything".

"'Course not", Pucca said, with a smirk. "Likewise".

When he passed her, he dropped something. "Think fast".

Pucca grabbed it in mid-air, and found out that it was cocoa. When she turned around to ask Garu what he meant, he was already gone. It was newly bought and steamy hot, which added to her satisfaction when she took the first slurp of it with a smile. It was her favorite. When she glanced up in the sky this time, she saw it cloudless and the blueness of the sky greeted her.

She walked home with her crutches, slowly but with a content smile on her lips.

* * *

**And see ya till next time! Animekitty says bye :D**


	11. Coincidence or Fate?

**Back again with yet another chapter. I feel like I've neglected this a lot, 'cause I've been so engrossed with a cartoon fic of mine so that I've **_**totally**_** forgotten to update this one! So here's my apology to you, another chapter ^w^**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Coincidence or Fate?**

"Aw, now he's gonna propose to her! He's just so romantic."

"Yeah, but ya gotta admit that he looks kinda gay."

"What? He does not!"

"I know what M'talking 'bout, Chi-Chi. I bet he's a playboy who's already got a boyfriend, and has done this kinda thing before. Bisexual bastard." **(A/N: I have NOTHING against homosexual or bisexual people! Neither has Lily.)**

"Lily, have you seen this movie before?"

"Nah, but I can figure out the ending before it even gets there."

"You _spoiler_! You ruined the whole film!"

"Oi, it ain't my fault this movie's a big fat clique!"

The three best friends were having a movie night together at Pucca, the dark-haired and the blonde girl having an argument about the main character of the film, which now had resulted into a pillow-fight. They had fun for a while before they eventually realized that Pucca herself hadn't participated or said anything for quite some time and they were now a tad worried. The usual pigtail-haired girl had her long, dark locks loose around her shoulders, her azure eyes darting from word to word in a compendium she was currently holding.

"Hey, Pucca," Ching said hesitantly. "What's the matter?"

Said girl lifted her eyes off the manuscript and glanced on her friends. "I'm just learning my new lines, seeing as I'm not Juliet anymore."

"Which is?"

"I'm…" Pucca mumbled the last part with slight irritation. "…one of Juliet's maids."

"Lemme guess," Lily said, and folded her arms before her chest. "The blue-haired goose suggested it to Mrs. Morrison?"

"It's just a stupid play," Pucca said with a light shrug. "So Ring-Ring's being Juliet? Big deal; who cares about that anyway?"

"_You_ do," both Ching and Lily said in sync, also wearing matching smirks. Pucca gasped lightly, a small pink blush dusting the bridge of her nose.

"Do not!"

"Do too."

"I really don't, girls."

"That's just your ego talking," Lily replied.

"No, that's exactly what my _heart_ tells me. And the rest of me."

"Then, why is your face telling us another story?" Ching giggled in response. Pucca awkwardly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"'Cause…Cause this is just too ridiculous, that's why," Pucca muttered with a small pout forming. Lily and Ching sat down beside Pucca on her big couch.

"Say, why don't you just quit this whole bet-thing you two are having, and just be friends?" Lily suggested with a smile. Pucca gripped the fabric of the couch for support as she began exploding.

"Are you crazy? I can't be 'friends' with him, it would be like, like becoming friends with the enemy! And furthermore, the word 'quit' doesn't exist in my vocabulary, because I always win, and this one's no exception! I'll win this thing and prove the guy that I'm not one of his fan girls, and that he can't make me one!"

"Geez, Pucca, slow it down. I was just thinking that since it's so freaking obvious that you two have a thing for each other," the blonde explained, simply ignoring the death-glare she got from her friend. "that you should just, y'know, become buddies and know each other some more."

"Trust me, Lily. I think I already know the most important. Garu is just my classmate and love-rival. I don't intend to have it any other way than that, and I would appreciate it greatly if you guys would stop playing match-makers."

"Okay," Ching nodded. "If you want it like this, Pucca, then we'll stop teasing."

"Thank you," Pucca replied with a smile, and briefly glanced at the television. "Um, why're those two guys kissing?"

"Ha! I freaking _told you_ he was gay! And I was right as usual-. "

The blonde teen received a smack at the back of her head with a pillow, surprised to see it being from Pucca.

"_Spoiler_!"

* * *

Pucca just wanted to dig herself a hole and move in. Ring Ring was _constantly_ on her back the next day, acting all sweet and caring, not to mention _flirty _in front of Garu, and it annoyed the hell out of her as well as grossing her out completely. A small part of her thought that Garu couldn't possibly fall for a girl that sticky, then she shook her head and kept repeating in her mind that the spiky-haired guy's love-life was none of her concern. He could marry her for all she cared. It wasn't her business anyway.

"Hey, Pucca," a mockingly sweet voice asked. "What are you doing?"

Azure blue eyes took their sweet old time before they finally met chocolate brown ones, a bored face-expression immediately taking over the young girl's features. "What does it look like?"

"Gosh, who made you cranky this early in the morning?" Ring Ring asked, and shook her head with a dramatic sigh. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd sew a dress for me? I mean, you're already working, so I thought-."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I _am_ working; _on my own dress_."

The pig-tail haired girl blew the bangs away from her face before continuing on sewing her maid-dress. It was of used of the leftover fabric Pucca had used from the Juliet-dress, and the girl thought it would be thoughtless to let it all go to waste. The Juliet-dress could always be hung in her closet as a horrible reminder of what she probably never got to wear…

"Actually, I do have a dress available," Pucca said, trying to mimic the same sickly sweet smile Ring Ring was wearing. She needed it, because never in her life had she thought that she would actually lend _her clothes _to_ her rival_. "It might fit you, and it's in this gorgeous ruby-red color of silk-."

"Ugh, _red_?" Ring Ring sighed.

"Yeah,_ red_," Pucca frowned. "Anything wrong about that?" Pucca raised a brow skeptically.

"No offense, but I just don't _do_ with red. What about sapphire-blue or emerald-green instead? I do like that it's made out of silk, but I'd want you to choose the color a bit more_ thoughtfully_ in the future, okay?"

"Of course," Pucca nodded, her eyes shining with amusement. "I'll try to."

The blue-haired teen brushed her long locks away from her face when turning around to leave. What she didn't know was that her high heels were stepping onto fabric that was carelessly thrown onto the ground, and Pucca was totally aware of that. In fact, her fingers tightened around that very fabric and pulled it towards herself with great force, causing a body to land on the ground with a smack and a high-pitched yelp to echo through the classroom. Ring Ring rubbed her bottom and blushed in anger and embarrassment as a couple of students snickered and giggled a little.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you," Pucca smirked in victory. "The floor can be slippery, so walk _carefully_ on your way out, okay?"

The blue-haired girl snorted, her blue locks turning a dangerous color of red for a brief moment, before they turned back to their glamorous blue color again. She dusting herself off and walking gracefully away with the dignity she had left.

"Girl got what she was looking for," Pucca said as Lily and Ching snickered in their own corner, practicing their lines for their roles.

"A shitload of trouble."

* * *

_Only two weeks left before I can get this stupid thing off me._

The pig-tail haired waitress was feeling a little down at the moment, walking home all by herself. It wasn't like she was lonely; Ching and Lily had attempted to cheer her up with suggestions such as shopping or hanging out at their favorite café near the mall, but Pucca had kindly refused. She felt like she needed some time alone, a little space due to Ring-Ring's stickiness lately. The two girls had nodded in understanding and left Pucca with an assuring hug each. She smiled; she had the two best friends in the world, and she felt a little guilty for not asking about their health or about them lately. It had always been about _her_; how she was rambling about how much her day had sucked or what had happened of fun stuff for her. She almost never heard anything about _them_, besides how great Ching and Abyo's relationship was or how Lily still tried to find the mysterious kisser she met at the party.

Pucca sighed to herself; she wished she had something that could take her mind off the stressful things that currently happened in her life. She walked through a path of naked trees, their branches filled with piles of snow instead of leaves. Letting her azure eyes glide through each of them, she soon noticed that something didn't seem right. A pink tail was sticking out from one pile of snow on a tree, swaying slightly from side to side. Pucca gasped in surprise; an animal was stuck in there! She wanted to leap into action, but she cursed her current condition. She could've climbed up that tree so easily. But damn it if that was going to stop her.

She desperately looked for someone she could ask for help, anyone would be useful! She couldn't see any, not even a student, so she'd have to knock on someone's house for help. When she finally did find a house, she gaped a little; karma was really trying to piss her off today. Pucca saw a house made of bamboo undoubtedly belonging to her spiky-haired class-mate. She fought the urges to just run away from there; the life of a defenseless animal was on risk! A lot of willpower was used to simply knock on the door, and wait for Garu to appear. When he did, he looked surprised to see her, but before a question could form in his mouth, she was already dragging him out of his home by the arm.

"Hey, what's going on..?" he asked in pure confusion. Pucca just kept dragging him, ignoring the heat that had gathered in her face.

"C'mon! You need to help me, there's an animal in danger!"

He looked at her skeptically, another question coming up, but she pulled him further. "Just get your ass moving, okay!"

Garu finally decided to drop the question, seeing as they obviously didn't have time for them, and since he probably couldn't make them out in time before Pucca would yell at him to hurry up. Soon enough they reached the particular tree where the pile of snow where the pink tail was sticking out, still swaying a little. A stab of pain hit the pig-tail haired girl's heart; she had a great love for animals and hated seeing them in pain.

"Can't you see it?" she asked Garu, her azure eyes filled with sadness. "It has been stuck inside the snow for who-knows-how-long? You've gotta save it, Garu!"

Garu eyed the tree for a while, and then sighed as he braced himself before finally climbing all the way up to the branches. It finally hit Pucca like a brick that Garu was only wearing a t-shirt and baggy pants in this cold weather, and a small stab of guilt hit her as well. She bit her lip when Garu had swung himself onto the branch and extended his hands out to wipe the snow away. After some seconds the spiky-haired teenager carefully climbed down, now holding a pink kitten in his embrace. A little squeal of happiness and excitement escaped the waitress's lips and she leaned forward to look at the little kitten. It slowly lifted its eyelids and looked at Pucca with its hazelnut brown eyes, snuggling closer to the warmth coming from Garu's chest.

"_Kawai_!" Pucca exclaimed and nuzzled the little kitten with a finger, making it play with the finger in curiosity. "Aw, it's absolutely adorable! Think if nobody had spotted it. It could've frozen to death…" Pucca trailed off, feeling a little sad.

"Wanna hold it?" Garu asked, leaning closer to hand over the kitten to Pucca. She looked a little startled, but accepted it nevertheless, resuming letting the kitten play with her fingers again.

"It's hasn't got any collar. Maybe it got lost from its mom…"

"You could take care of it in the meanwhile, in case it has an owner. If not, then you could keep it as a pet," Garu suggested, nodding towards the pink kitten. Pucca's face went all blank by hearing this.

"You…you really think I should..?" she asked softly. "Why don't you keep it?"

Garu shook his head. "Nah. Already got my hands full with my own cat at home. His name is Mio"

Azure eyes widened a little. "You have a pet yourself? Gee, never thought of you as the pet-loving guy."

The spiky-haired guy scratched the kitten under its chin, earning some purrs from it, his dark amethyst eyes gazing into the azure eyes belonging to Pucca.

"There are a lot of things don't know about me, Pucca."

A tingle went down the pigtail haired girl's spine when hearing this. Her breathing hitched and her embrace around the pink kitten tightened a little.

"Is…Is that so?" she finally managed to say out. "Well, that sounds kinda disturbing. Are you an international thief in disguise too?"

He gave an amused smile, that didn't help Pucca's pounding heart one bit. "You never know."

"…Kay, well, um, thanks for helping me out," she held the kitten up next to her face, moving its paw so that it looked like it was waving to Garu. A smile bloomed at her lips all the while. "Me and Yani really appreciate it."

Garu swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair, glancing at the snow as if it was suddenly interesting, while fighting the sudden heat that had gathered in his cheeks. You could barely hear his low reply of 'don't mention it'.

Then he opened his eyes that held a confusing look.

"Yani?"

"Yeah! It suits her perfectly!"

"…maybe…" Pucca continued, while the tip of her shoe rooted circles in the snow. "…Yani could come over and see Mio once in a while? So she could have a playmate to hang around with when we're at school…I mean," Pucca brushed a strand of hair behind her ears. "…it's only a thought…"

"Doesn't sound bad, Pucca. I-no, Mio wouldn't mind."

Pucca smiled again. "Then, it's settled. I can't-I mean, Yani can't wait!"

They stared at each other with wide eyes and red cheeks for what seemed like an eternity.

"Bye!" they said in union, and turned on their heels to rush away from each other.

_Stupid, stupid, STUPID! _Was probably the thought that went through both their minds.

* * *

**Haha, I love messing with 'em! PuccaxGaru fluff rules! Waaaaay too late, but Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everybody! Hope you liked this chapter! **


	12. In The Nick of Time

**Thanks for all the reviews! They encourage me greatly! Here's some more a Garucca fluff! I just really wanted to end all this Romeo and Juliet stuff. .0**

**Disclaimer: Own nothing. Did you really think I did?**

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**Chapter 12: In the Nick of Time.**

"Okay, students; the hall is filled up and people are expecting to see you in you doing your best! So please just…don't screw up, okay?" the ever so perky teacher Mrs. Morrison said, holding the manuscript tightly between her small fingers in anticipation. The hall indeed vibrated with the hundred voices of students, parents and guests, chatting, laughing or in any other way communicating with one another. Little did they know, that chaos was happening from behind the big curtains. They were flying from between each other in what could best be described as panic.

"Gah! Where's my brush! Where's my costume! I can't find anything!"

"…Do you think this is a little too much make-up, or not enough…?"

"…Ow! Okay, who stepped on my foot!"

"…get outta my way, people!"

"…Haha, dude, just look at you; you look stupid!"

Yeah, things were clearly didn't go as wanted. Mrs. Morrison felt like ripping big strands of hair of out her skulls, but instead squeezed the manuscript in her grip into unrecognizability. Though some panic was among the most students, others took the situation very calmly.

"Lily, would you stop whining, so I can tie this properly? It's kinda hard with you bouncing around like that," Pucca scolded, her slender fingers working hard to make the perfect bow tie on Lily's guy costume. The blonde groaned in annoyance.

"But it's so irritating, and it's so itchy!"

"You wanted to play a role without any skirts, Mercutio," the waitress smirked with a knowing look.

"I know," Lily said. "You think I can switch with the guy who plays narrator? I bet he doesn't mind."

"There," the best friend said and ignored Lily's reply. Taking a step backwards, she admired her work with a satisfied smile. "Y'know, Lily; I'd say you fit the role as Mercutio just well."

"Hmm? Whatcha mean by…holy shit!" the teen exclaimed in surprise when Ching came with a mirror. She examined everything from her face to the old-fashioned clothing she was currently wearing.

"You look good as a guy, Lily. It's kinda hard to tell that you're a girl," Ching grinned.

"'Look good'? Girl, I look so hot, I don't even know where to start!" Lily gave a confident laughter, and then caught a glint in her eyes. "I'm gonna go mess with the other girls and see if they can recognize me. See ya."

And with that the blonde leapt away with a grin, leaving her two friends to wonder just what she really had of evil intentions. Then Ching broke the silence.

"You look so pretty, Pucca," she commented. "Even without your Juliet-costume."

"Thanks, Ching. You look good too," Pucca replied, and then sighed. "I just want to get this over with. Lily was right about these costumes being itchy."

Ching was doing some finishing touches on her hair, while listening to Pucca.

"Say, you haven't seen Ring-Ring out there, have you?"

The young waitress frowned a little.

"I'd rather avoid her, Ching, but no, I haven't seen her. Why?"

"Well, some other girls asked me where she was, 'cause they were supposed to help her with the hair and make-up, but they think she hasn't showed up at all. And that's really strange since she's been kinda excited about this."

Pucca's frown deepened in surprise. That was strange. Pucca was sure that her blue-haired rival would use this opportunity to humiliate her with, so why not show up? Especially when she had gone through all this trouble just to steal Pucca's role? The minutes went and went, and the audience grew impatient to that part where they would yell at the play to begin, and Ring-Ring still hadn't showed up. All the 'actors' went searching for her everywhere, but without any results. Pucca now really began to get curious. Where was Ring-Ring?

The waitress sighed deeply, before taking part in the searching-squad of students. She walked through the empty hallway with her crutches' clicking echoing while scanning the area. She reached the girls bathroom and checked it, seeing nobody in there, she almost exited when hearing a very low, very silent mumbling. Entering once again, Pucca held cautiously walked in. "Ring-Ring?"

The mumbling stopped and Pucca sighed once again. "I know you're in there…everybody's looking for you, you know."

The blue-haired girl came out from one of the booths, her mascara running down her cheeks; a clear sign that she had cried. She sniffled a couple of times, her arms wrapped around her frame, facing away from Pucca.

"Tell them I don't want to come out from here."

"Why? You're like the main character," no matter how painful it was, Pucca said it anyway. "The play won't function without you, Ring-Ring."

"Okay, scratch that; I _can't_ come out of here."

Pucca let the information sink in, before questioning: "How come?"

Ring-Ring shifted, leaning her weight on one foot and then the other.

"I-I got fear for scenes, all right. There. I said it. When I see a scene, I just forget about everyone and everything."

The waitress chewed on that one. That explained why Ring-Ring had locked herself into the girls' bathroom and refused to come out. Pure nervousness and fear had stopped her.

"You can laugh all you want, Pucca," the blue-haired girl continued. "I don't mind at all. I'm pathetic."

Pucca took a few steps towards Ring-Ring. "It's true that I find it a tad silly…"

"…but I don't intend to laugh. And you're not pathetic, Ring-Ring. But I do think it's kinda weird; if you're afraid of scenes, then why'd you insist on taking my role?"

"…"

"_Ring-Ring_," Pucca pressed.

"Okay! I did it to steal Garu from you, but I hadn't expected the whole audience thing," she exclaimed, and then lowered her head in embarrassment. "Guess my plan back-fired."

_Everything makes sense now. But people are getting impatient, what do we do?_

"Ring-Ring! There you are!" Mrs. Morrison entered the bathroom, and sighed in pure relief. "If we just hurry up with your costume, I'm sure we can make it in time to do the play."

"No," the blue-haired teen said, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "I can't, Mrs. I'm not ready for the big scene yet."

"Not ready? But dear, you _have_ to do this. Who else can play your role?"

"For starters; what about asking the person you gave the role from in the beginning? I'm sure she wouldn't mind," the voice of Pucca's blonde friend said, the owner entering with Ching and a couple of girls.

"Me?" the waitress asked in surprise and disbelief.

"You know your lines, you have your dress and your actor skills don't suck completely- who else would fit better than our Pucca?"

"And besides, people are almost starting to leave, so you don't really have a choice," Ching added.

"But how can I _gracefully_ walk around as Juliet with these things?" the delivery girl asked, holding up her crotches to emphasize her point.

"Well, in that case you must improvise. Now, let's get going! You know what they say; the show must go on!" the perky teacher literally pushed Pucca towards the hall.

"B-but, don't I have something to say at least? What if I don't want to either?"

"Then, you'll score an F- in your History assignment for not participating when asked."

"In that case; _let's get going, girls_!" Pucca exclaimed, and rushed away as fast as she could on crotches. The next two hours were definitely memorable. 'Juliet' looked like she fell off the balcony with those awkward steps she was talking, which greatly affected her way of acting. 'Romeo' had come later, so he didn't know why Pucca had taken Ring-Ring's role, but tried to cover his surprise as much as he could even though he failed to do so. Besides the two main characters, everything was going according to manuscript which eased the History teacher's head ache just a little. But that was until a certain blonde teenager came onto stage. It was the scene were Tybalt and Mercutio would be 'fighting' to death, but the girl had all too soon forgotten her lines, and was searching for anything in her brain that could be said, that would sound old-fashioned, just anything before she finally did say something.

"Screw this shit."

Everyone cracked their eyes up in astonishment; clearly that wasn't a part of the play. 'Mercutio' picked up a sword, and pointed it towards a confused 'Tybalt', waving her finger at him that said 'come and get me'. Their 'fight' ended with Mercutio 'dying' and it did look a lot more believable with the two expert fighters dueling against each other. Lily kept doing random things, saying random things that clearly weren't meant to be said and with the help of Garu and Pucca's awkwardness, and Ching's clumsiness, the audience was roaring with laughter the whole time until they had tears pooling out of the corners of their eyes. There was a part where Garu and Pucca were supposed to share a kiss, but that hadn't went well either.

They'd bumped their noses into each other, then tried again and bumped their foreheads against one another. But it didn't stop there.

"What, you can't even kiss straight now?"

"It's hard when you're doing everything wrong!"

"Me? You're the one who stepped your crutch on my foot!"

"So? You were spinning me around so fast earlier, I was getting sick!"

"You're one to talk; it feels like _everything_'s spinning when I'm looking into your eyes!"

"And you're talking about pain; when I see you, my hearts beating like crazy!"

The couple both gasped silently and turned in various shades of red, while the audience was 'awing' the whole time. The teens stared with wide eyes at the people before staring at each other. The spiky-haired boy was faster than the light when he quickly pecked the waitress' cheek. It was quick, but Pucca did nothing more than momentarily close her eyes as the boy's lips softly brushed against the skin of her cheek.

The audience was whistling and clapping in joy when the curtains began to move, signaling the end of the scene. Pucca was practically paralyzed the whole time, only snapping back to reality when feeling someone smack her back from behind. She then noticed that Garu was gone from eye-sight.

"Well, well, wasn't that just the most sugary-sweet moment you have ever seen, Chi-Chi?" Lily smirked with a wiggle of her brow.

"Why yes, Lily, I don't recall ever seeing our friend this flustered before. I wonder what it means," Ching giggled. The two girls then embraced, looking like a lovey-dovey couple before singing.

"It's Love, it's Love, oh, it's the funny feeling of Love~"

"Okay, _okay_, cut it out!" Pucca exclaimed. "It was all just a part of the play, got it? He could've done it with Ring-Ring or any other girl for that matter; would you guys say he was in love with that girl too?"

The two girls shared a glance before replying:

"Well, not unless they both look like they'd dipped their faces in red paint…"

"…or said those really adorably cheesy lines, no, then we wouldn't."

Pucca rubbed her temples with her finger-tips, in an attempt to ease her incoming migraine.

"You guys are _unbelievable_."

* * *

When the play was finally over, the audience was clapping so loudly in enjoyment. Some thought it was meant to be a comedy of the romantic play, and that it was planned from the beginning. They had no idea. The students had done more than well, and could finally take their itchy costumes off to celebrate their achieved goal to entertain everybody.

"Let's all go get some ice cream to celebrate!" Ching said happily, when they had changed their outfits into regular clothing.

"Ooooh, sounds great! I'm in! What 'bout you, Pucca?"

The waitress wasn't listening that much, but when she finally realized that her friends were talking to her, she turned her eyes at them. "Huh?"

"Okay, how 'bout this," Lily suggested. "Since that boy left you in a daze, _you_ go ask_ him_ to eat ice-cream with us. Sounds good?"

"Sounds terrible! Haven't I told you about the whole rival thing between us?" Pucca asked with a hint of anger.

"Well, you're getting along with Ring-Ring, aren't you? I heard you conversation earlier, so I thought you'd want to sort things out with Garu too."

"I…" Pucca trailed off with a slight blush. She had desperately hoped that nobody had heard that conversation. "…don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't, _now go get 'im, girl_!" the blonde girl said and pushed Pucca in the direction of said boy who was currently packing his belongings together, unknown to that the delivery girl stood behind him. She turned her head to her two friends who gave her thumbs-up, then swallowed down the lump in her throat. Timidly she said. "Hey."

The boy turned around, his amethyst eyes catching Pucca's with wonder in them.

"I sorta thought, y'know, that we did it good back there and…that you'd maybe want to, y'know…grab some ice cream with me? I mean us!" Pucca regained her cool, by taking deep breaths. "Lily, Ching, Abyo and I were on our way to get some, and I sorta thought-".

"Stop. I get it," the spiky-haired boy said with an amused smile. "You wanna have some ice cream with me?"

"Oh, so you want to? Great! Hey, guys, Garu want ice-cream!" Pucca smirked when adding. "And guess what; he said he'd want to pay the whole thing too!"

Said guy widened his eyes in surprise when the girls cried out in joy, the boy opening his mouth in an attempt to justify himself when an arm snaked itself around his shoulder.

"Dude, you're paying? Awesome! Man, you have no idea how much ice those girls chunk down, but hey, I ain't complaining," Abyo grinned, dragging his friend on their way to the store. Garu wasn't very pleased with the way things were turning.

* * *

**A/N: HAHAHA! Oh, Garu, you've only now joined the club of weirdos! Well, I hoped you liked this chapter and hopefully the next one will arrive soon. Spoiler alert; the next chapter will contain lots of mushy romance and cheesy fluff for all the girls! Can you wait that long to find out how? **


	13. Valentine's Day I

**I was thinking about getting all mean, and waiting to update the chapter when it actually **_**was **_**Valentine's day, but no, I'm not mean. I leave that out to Lily.**

**Lily: Oi, I ain't mean!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pucca. Never had, never have and never will.**

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**Chapter 13: Valentines Day I**

The 14th February was known everywhere by everyone to be Valentine's day. The most romantic day of the year. A delight for couples, and a dread for singles. Couples all around Sooga Village were enjoying themselves with the various kinds of offers that stores were giving out. Sweet chocolate and sweets could be bought, decorations in the forms of pink and red hearts were placed everywhere and even a Valentine's Festival was held in the streets of the town, spreading joy and love everywhere to people, young and old. But it wasn't exactly _everyone_ who was having a good time…

"Shit, shit, _shit_! Damn busses who drives damn earlier than needed, I'm all late for practice, teach's gonna be all pissed as usual, and-," a blonde girl swore loudly, just as a couple of raindrops touched her head, involving into raining that caused the violent teen to kick a nearby trash bin in fury. "Damn the rain, and this entire day! It's bad enough I'm all single; now it's just tryin' to piss me off as well, and it's fuckin' _workin_'!"

She scowled all the way to practice, swearing about how the world was against her, and how Fate was laughing its ass off by doing all this to Lily. She wrapped her arms around her soaked frame, trying to save the little body-warmth she had left and sighed in misery at how her wet bangs kept taking her vision away from her. Wasn't this supposed to be a special day? She had a school-free day, which was something she had been looking forward to for a long time. Unfortunately she couldn't get the opportunity to hang out with Ching as they always did on V-day, since the sword-wielder now had a _boyfriend_ to celebrate it with instead of her best friend. Even though Lily, Pucca and practically everyone else had succeed at finally getting the two teens together, Lily couldn't help but feel a little lonely now that she didn't have Ching with her.

And she couldn't hang out with Pucca either. The pig-tail haired waitress had other businesses to take care of apparently.

"_Puu-Puu~! Ya got time for another single today?"_

"_Uh, actually I don't…"_

"_C'mon, what can you possible do that's oh-so-important on __**Valentine's Day**__?...unless you finally took my advice and asked Garu out?"_

"_No! Jezz, I'm just gonna go out and give Yani some air."_

"_Then, why can't I go with ya? We can watch a movie later, or go ice-skating-. "_

"_Lily, I've got to meet up with someone else later today, so I'm kinda busy…"_

_0"Oh, a person who's more important than __**me**__? I've __**got**__ to know who he is."_

"_Who said it's a he?"_

"_Dude, I can read your mind."_

"_What the- no, you can't!"_

"_Well, it was worth a shot. Bye."_

Lily snorted. _She's __**so**__ gonna meet up with Garu. _Then she frowned; why wouldn't Pucca admit she had a simple, though understandable crush on Garu? No one wouldn't judge her, and it would make her life so much easier to just spill it out.

_Well, ain't this just perfect? My two friends just happened to be busy doing stuff with their crushes, and I'm y0_

_et left to be the group's only single. Yeah, everything's dandy as always…_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she went into someone, her head immediately snapping up.

"Oh, M'sorry. I didn't mean to bump into ya."

The person before her turned around, blinking rapidly in confusion. It was a guy about her age, with brown hair and forest-green eyes. His face was almost covered up in a scarf and the hood of his jacket, not to mention the umbrella he was carrying. It made Lily all jealous seeing as she was only wearing a thin leader-jacket that was soaked completely.

"It's okay," his muffled voice said lightly. Taking in her wet appearance, he then asked. "Are you going somewhere far? 'Cause I was wondering if I could offer you some of my umbrella. It seems like you need it."

Startled for a couple of seconds, Lily shrugged. "I dunno, it's this place in town where I go to kick-boxing practice."

"Now isn't that a lovely coincidence? As a matter of fact, I'm on my way there too. We could go there together, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind the slightest," the blonde girl replied before stepping under the shelter which the umbrella provided. "Name's Lillian, but people stick with Lily."

"I'm Tito. Glad to meet you."

"_So_," the blonde said to strike a conversation. "I haven't seen you before, so I take as you're new?"

"Yeah. I started last week when a friend of mine told me about the place. I've been kinda into martial arts for a long time, and that was why my friend recommended it for me. So far, I think it's really great," he locked his gaze with Lily before continuing. "But to be honest, I've never seen you before either."

"Well, that's something new. I wonder how it can even be possible to _not_ notice how awfully-talented I am," the blonde puffed her chest out proudly.

Tito raised an eye brow at this, the corners of his lips lifting. "Aren't you being a tad over-confident just now?"

Lily wiggled her eyebrows slightly. " Yeah, I know. S'almost a crime."

"I bet it is. Then, you wouldn't mind showing those skills of your to me later?" the hint of playfulness in the boy's voice made Lily glare at him with a smirk.

"Ooooh, Tito-boy; are you challenging me?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Trying to weasel out of it?"

"You _wish_," the blonde playfully pushed the other boy, earning an amused chuckle that made her smile brightly.

* * *

At the end of the day, Lily never thought her butt had hurt that much. Not even from when she was a kid and got her ass whipped for answering her nanny back or said something inappropriate to her parents. She had a bad language at a young age, which her parents definitely didn't approve. But to get back to the point, she couldn't sit straight because of Tito. For a newcomer, he certainly was a great challenge. She had noticed how he'd gone easy on her at first, and when telling him that he shouldn't hold back on her, she had _instantly_ regretted it.

He had her down so many times, that people had begun to question whether Lily was holding back herself, 'cause she was much better than that. The blonde blushed furiously in embarrassment when they began to whisper about her; she was better than her but he…was the best. Tito moved so quickly; he could stand in front of you and be gone in a flash. His moves made it impossible for her to even get a blow in, and she had to admit…that he was better than her. Way better.

"Sorry. Did I go too far?" the brunette guy asked and offered her a hand. She would've slapped his hand away if he wasn't so goddamn polite, and actually sounded like he was sorry…not to mention how incredibly handsome he looked in his sports outfit-

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean…" she stumbled upon her words as her ego fought against her reason. She stood up and sent Tito a death-glare. "…I don't wanna hear a word."

"I didn't say anything," he replied, but the amusement in his voice couldn't be mistaken. Lily pouted slightly.

"No, but ya probably thought a lot of stuff! Don't get any ideas into your sexy little head!"

"My…what..?"

The blonde's brain momentarily shut down after thinking over what she just said. The two teens stared at each other in awkward silence, lucky to be standing in a quiet corner where no one could hear what they said…

"Aw, fuck this!"

She turned on her heels and practically ran out of the training room, wanting nothing more than shooting herself then and there. She entered the girls changing room and was once again lucky to see no one there. She fished her phone out of her jacket, dialed a number, waited for the certain someone to pick it up…

"_Hello_?"

"Kill me."

Silence…

"_…let's take it from the beginning. What is it, Lily_?"

"Kill me, Pucca."

"_Why do you want me to kill you, Lily_?"

"'Cause I went to practice, and met this guy, we got to know each other and he wanted to fight me 'cause he goes to kick-boxing too, and then later he won and, oh God, Pucca, I fuckin' called him sexy right in front of him! Just get a damn gun and shoot me already!"

Silence yet again…

"_Lily, I'm not going to kill you_."

"Then I'll fuckin' commit suicide!"

"_No! Lily, tell me something about this guy, because surely you don't call every guy you meet sexy_?"

"Well…" Lily sat down on the bench and exhaled deeply. "…his name is Tito. He's like a couple of inches taller than me, is really good at kick-boxing… and," the blonde started to add softly. "he has these amazingly green eyes and his brown hair is so long; it looks so soft too and he has this cute pony-tail-."

"_Stop. I get it. So…what's he like_?"

Lily idly ran a finger along the curves and holes in the wooden bench. "I don't know him that much but he seems polite and sweet, y'know; not a complete douchebag like the other guys at school."

"_Lily, I think you're starting to fall for him_!"

Lily snorted loudly. "I do not. Just 'cause he's got all those qualities doesn't mean I like him."

"_Do too_!"

"Do not!"

"_Do too_!"

"Do not!"

"_Do not_!"

"Do too! - Aw, son of a bitch…" Lily face-palmed while holding back a groan of annoyance.

"_Ha! I was right_!"

"I am so gonna kill myself after this…"

"_No you're not, Lily. Just pretend like nothing happened or say it was a slip of the tongue_."

"_Tch_, yeah, 'cause I can tell any cute guy that I find them unbelievably hot and then say it was an accident. He's totally not gonna think I'm a freaking weirdo."

"_Look, just give it a try. You'll never know unless you take the final step_."

"I suppose you're right, Puu-Puu. Though, if it fails, I'm so gonna say it's your fault when you find me dead with a knife."

"_You're not seriously gonna kill yourself with knife_."

"You're right; a rope would be so much easier to deal with. I don't like knives."

"_Love you too, Lily_."

Lily ran a hand down her face, and braced herself for the incoming awkwardness that was bound to come. She exited the girls' changing room.

"Tito!"

"Yeah?"

"_Gah_!"

He stood right in front of her when she exited the room, almost bumping into him. Her face heat up immediately.

"Fuck! For how long have you been standin' there?"

"I wanted to check on you, because you seemed upset when you suddenly left. Are you okay?" he asked. The blonde scratched her hair nervously.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just sorta mad, I guess. But I'm okay," she replied, and gave Tito a pat on the shoulder. "Well, I gotta admit you beat me. Oh, Lord there's a guy who can actually beat me!"

The brunette smiled and replied sarcastically. "Boy, do I feel honored."

"You should be!"

"So, I was wondering," Tito continued. "If you'd talk over drink? You seem to be very interesting, and I'd really want to get to know you some more."

Lily was staying wide-eyed at him. Here she was freaking out and possibly could've committed suicide at the age of sixteen because she'd called him sexy and he hadn't even brought it out, just brushed it off like people regularly called him all sorts of stuff. _What a fuckin' peachy day. _

"I-I could say the same to you," she awkwardly replied. "I wanna know everything about the guy who beat me. And you're in for some seriously awkward questions from my side, 'cause I wanna know stuff about you too."

The brunette smiled brightly. "Great. Oh, and…" he leaned in closer, whispering softly. "I know I'm sexy."

Lily glared incredulously at him with a slightly opened mouth. "Well, hell! And here I thought you were innocent and shit. And you're calling me overconfident?"

"Hey, I wasn't the one yelling it out loud for no reason."

"Tch. I take it back; you, Tito are cockier than I ever imagined you to be. I can't wait to know more about ya."

Amusement sparkled in the green eyes of the brunette. "I could say the same for you, Lily."

* * *

**A/N: *Strikes dramatic pose* Writing Lily should be easy since she's my own character and all, but oddly she's almost the hardest one to write! And we have a look at how Pucca is doing in da next chapter! Will she meet up with Garu as Lily has predicted? Stay tuned for da fourteenth chapter! ^w^**

**Please leave a review before you leave! :D**


	14. I'm back!

**Hey people! Are you guys still with me? :0 I know it's been a while since I last updated *cough* four months*cough* but I've kinda started to make stories about the new series of Ninja Turtles 2012! I'm really hooked but that's no excuse (u.u) So, I'd like to know who wants me to continue from the whole Valentines Day theme? Because if everyone's lost interest, then I see no point in continuing. **

**Anyone who'd like me to write more says; Aye sir! xD I'm kidding you don't have to say that, but a reply would be nice, though :3**

**See ya~**

**Theanimekitty89**


	15. Valentine's Day II

**A/N: I'm back again! 11 reviews which all stated to continue had me thinking about how cruel I am O.O. Nevertheless, here's the fourteenth chapter even though it's not that long, please bear with me. D:**

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**Chapter 14: Valentine's Day II.**

"Aw, why're you looking so sad today, Yani?" Pucca asked with concern as she lifted her pink cat up like a baby. The cat glanced down pitifully at its owner with the most heart-wrenching sound escaping its lips. The pigtail-haired girl moaned in sympathy and hugged the pet close.

"I know, Yani. It's not funny to be a single on V-day. Take it from me; the girls and I have been singles ever since we were kids," the teen chuckled to herself. "But I am happy for Abyo and Ching, even though he's taking our little girl away from Lily and me." Then, she plopped down on her black leather couch with a frown touching her forehead.

"What do you say about a little walk, huh? Then you can eat as much cat food you want and I can eat a couple of pounds worth of chocolate! What do you say?"

Almost as if the cat understood her, it jumped down from the cushions with much enthusiasm and looked much happier than before. The waitress clasped her hands together in delight and went inside her room to take a quick change of her attire.

_You gotta look extra hot for Garu-boy, don't you?_

Pucca stopped immediately when a tingle went down her spin at that thought. Ugh, she hadn't thought about_ him_ all day, and granted, she didn't want to either. Valentine's Day was bad enough as it was already; the last thing she need was a headache when trying to block out thought about _him_.

_Oh, Come on. If he didn't mean anything to you, why put so much effort in ignoring him?_

"You're turning crazy, Pucca. This guy's gonna be the end of my sanity," the teen mumbled under her breath as clothes were pushed aside in her closet and more was landing on the floor. Her fingers then found a piece of decorated fabric and soon she found herself glancing at a deep red Chinese outfit with golden decorations.

_Now __**that**__ is sexy._

"Oh, shut up," Pucca said to no one in particular. _Oh God, I'm talking to myself. _She tossed the clothing away and looked for something else. Nothing special caught her eyes and she sighed deeply to herself.

_Pick the Chinese one._

"It's a small walk. Why do I even need such a pretty outfit for that?"

_Duh. Garu of course. Because you're gonna meet him, right?_

Parts of the conversation from the time when said boy saved Yani came back to the waitress.

"_I already got my hands full with my own cat at home."_

"_You have a pet yourself? Gee, never thought of you as the pet-loving guy."_

"_There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Pucca."_

"_Yeah. But you know…maybe …Yani could come over and see Mio once in a while? So she could have a playmate to hang around with when we're at school…I mean…it's only a thought…"_

"_Doesn't sound bad, Pucca. I-no, Mio wouldn't mind."_

"_Then, it's settled. I can't-I mean, Yani can't wait!"_

"Yani wouldn't want to go over there, would she?" Pucca asked herself and thoughtfully placed a hand under her chin.

_Bet she would. And you could get to see Garu's topless chest while he's training._

The pigtail-haired girl turned beet red in a matter of seconds. "I could never-."

_A topless, sweating chest with the abs of a Greek God..!_

"Ugh! I don't wanna hear any more of this!" the girl buried her heated face in the red and pink pillows till she couldn't hear the sound of her second voice inside her head. Then, she slowly her fingers slowly reached out to grab the Chinese outfit she had tossed away earlier.

* * *

When Pucca had zipped her winter coat, her mobile had rung and she quickly took it after she saw who it was.

"Hallo?"

"_Puu-Puu~! Ya got time for another single today?"_

"Uh, actually I don't…"

"_C'mon, what can you possible do that's oh-so-important on Valentine's Day?...unless you finally took my advice and asked Garu out?"_

"No!" the waitress blushed madly. How could Lily be reading her mind like that? Oh, wait; this was _Lily_ they were talking about. "Jezz, I'm just gonna go out and give Yani some air."

"_Then, why can't I go with ya? We can watch a movie later, or go ice-skating-. "_

"Lily, I've got to meet up with someone else later today, so I'm kinda busy…"

"_Oh, a person who's more important than me? I've got to know who he is."_

"Who said it's a he?"

"_Dude, I can read your mind."_

Pucca shook her head in confusion at the random reply. "What the- no, you can't!"

"_Well, it was worth a shot. Bye." _

"Well, that was…weird." But with no further ado, Pucca and her cat, Yani exited the front door and welcomed the chilly weather outside. They took a couple of rounds around the park and went to the frozen lake where kids were playing snowball fight with each other. The boys were throwing snow at each other and the girls were making snow men or ice skating. The pigtail-haired girl giggled at the sight and felt the sweet nostalgia of when she was a little kid.

_A little girl with a dango hairstyle and a signature red dress. Sweet and always in a contagiously optimistic mood, Pucca was a giggling little wonder child with a great strength and an even greater heart of gold._

"_Life became times harder since then_," she thought sadly and continued her walk with her pet in her embrace. That was until it decided to play hide and seek when it jumped out of its owner's arms.

"Yani!" Pucca exclaimed. "Where are you running to? Come back here!"

The waitress sped up to catch the fast little ball of pink fur that was now running through the woods into an unknown direction. Pucca failed to get her pet but saw it run towards a little male black cat that sat next to the familiar bamboo house Pucca knew all too well. Exiting said house came a teen in a black leather jacket whose dark eyes locked onto azure blue ones in an instant.

_Well, hellooooo hottie._

"Shut up already!" Pucca yelled angrily but that anger disappeared just as Garu glanced confusingly at her with a raised brow.

"Me? But I haven't said anything."

"_Ye_t. I can just feel your smart-ass remarks before they even come out of your mouth."

Garu smirked. "Don't you think you're just a little bit paranoid?"

"In _your_ case," Pucca crossed her arms. "I don't think so. I'm keeping my eyes on you, Mister."

"If you say so, Officer Pucca," the spiky-haired teen joked and raised his arms in surrender. "But unless you got prof that says otherwise, I'm innocent."

"Yeah, I bet you are," Pucca said sarcastically.

"_So_. Was there a particular reason why you're scrolling around my property or was it that hard to be without me?" Garu asked rather smugly. Pucca gasped sharply in disapproval and blushed lightly.

_If he knew the things I've been thinking about him! _

"None of the above," she hissed. "Yani and I walked around and then she ran to this cat," she glanced at the two cats that both looked lovesick. "_Your_ cat, apparently."

"Your cat likes mine just as you like me," he smirked even more.

"I am _not_! _She_ is not; _neither_ of us are! Ugh, you're so unbelievable!" Pucca yelled and had to hold herself from smacking the guy in front of her.

"You seem to hold a lot of energy," Garu leaned forward and carefully took down the fist that Pucca held threateningly in the air. "I know a way to get all that out in a non-violent way. Well, almost."

"What?" Pucca asked, annoyed.

"Spar with me."

"Why should I?" she asked with a frown.

"Because Abyo don't have time now that he's with his girlfriend. People have told me that you're known to martial arts and not to mess you if I didn't want any of my bones broken."

"I can tell you're failing the whole 'messing with me', though," Pucca gave a mocking smile that quickly faded away.

"_Anyway_. You're good at sports, and that way, you can get an opportunity to go at me as much as you'd like."

"Now that sounds _very_ tempting."

"Thought you might approve," he replied dryly and jokingly took a step back and reached his arm out as to say 'ladies first'.

"I do approve. But I can't promise to go easy on you," she added with a dark smile that didn't fit her sweet appearance at all.

"Gee, cocky much?"

"Like you're one to talk, Garu-boy."

The teenage girl froze immediately after that had left her mouth and she didn't dare turn around to see what Garu's reaction was.

_Ooooh, you called him Garu-boy! Nice one!_

"I-I'm gonna go inside now!" she quickly managed to say before a cloud of dust replaced the spot where she had been a second ago.

* * *

Garu's house was surprisingly simple in furnishing and design. There wasn't much furniture other than the necessary ones like bed, drawer, lamps and such. It looked peaceful and relaxing somehow even though Pucca herself could never dream to live like this.

_There isn't even a TV! How can this guy survive!_ She thought as she examined him while he was talking about how the sparring would begin.

_It's like his personality doesn't fit the way he lives at home. A guy who acts just as cocky and self-confident as him should almost live like Ring Ring._

"You're not listening," Garu said randomly and stopped walking to glance annoyingly at Pucca. She scoffed in surprise.

"Am too."

"Then what was I saying?" he said with a playful smile.

"You said we start with simple hand-to-hand combat and move on to sparring weapons from there. After an hour and a half is usually the point where you and Abyo give up and go drink a soda but if I'd rather have something else I could take tea or just water," she recited precisely and stuck her tongue out afterwards. "Thought you had me there, didn't you?"

"Seeing as how you were staring at me from behind all the while I talked says I got you a long time ago," he replied smugly.

"Keep dreaming," Pucca replied and took off her coat. Just as she'd put it away, she turned around to see Garu take off his sweatshirt along with his T-shirt; giving the waitress a nice view of his well-defined chest and abs.

_Woooo, strip show!_

"Would it be a bad time to ask you _what the hell you're doing_?" Pucca asked through clenched teeth. Garu looked back with a neutral look.

"What, it's hot in here. And for once I can say that it's not because of me," he said. "Why? Did it do something to you?"

"If that 'something' involves almost losing my lunch, then yes, it did 'something' to me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Rea-."

"Let's go already!"

Pucca's phone rang for the second time that day and she groaned in annoyance before holding up a finger. "Just a sec." It only took a couple of seconds to answer the call once finding it in her coat's pockets.

"Hello?"

"_Kill me_."

Silence…

"…let's take it from the beginning. What is it, Lily?"

"_Kill me, Pucca_."

"Why do you want me to kill you, Lily?"

"'_Cause I went to practice, and met this guy, we got to know each other and he wanted to fight me 'cause he goes to kick-boxing too, and then later he won and, oh God, Pucca, I fuckin' called him sexy right in front of him! Just get a damn gun and shoot me already!_"

Silence yet again…

"Lily, I'm not going to kill you."

"_Then I'll fuckin' commit suicide!_"

"No! Lily, tell me something about this guy, because surely you don't call every guy you meet sexy?"

"_Well…his name is Tito. He's like a couple of inches taller than me, is really good at kick-boxing… and…he has these amazingly green eyes and his brown hair is so long; it looks so soft too and he has this cute pony-tail_-."

"Stop. I get it. So…what's he like?"

"_I don't know him that much but he seems polite and sweet, y'know; not a complete douchebag like the other guys at school_."

"Lily, I think you're starting to fall for him!" Pucca squealed in delight, causing Garu to stare at her in surprise. Not that she minded that.

Lily snorted loudly in the phone. "_I do not. Just 'cause he's got all those qualities doesn't mean I like him_."

"Do too!"

"_Do not_!"

"Do too!"

"_Do not_!"

"Do not!"

"_Do too! - Aw, son of a bitch…_"

"Ha! I was right!"

"_I am so gonna kill myself after this_…"

"No you're not, Lily. Just pretend like nothing happened or say it was a slip of the tongue."

"_Tch, yeah, 'cause I can tell any cute guy that I find them unbelievably hot and then say it was an accident. He's totally not gonna think I'm a freaking weirdo_."

"Look, just give it a try. You'll never know unless you take the final step."

"_I suppose you're right, Puu-Puu. Though, if it fails, I'm so gonna say it's your fault when you find me dead with a knife_."

"You're not gonna kill yourself with knife."

"_You're right; a rope would be so much easier to deal with. I don't like knives._"

"Love you too, Lily."

"Did you just convince your friend not to commit suicide?" Garu asked in astonishment as Pucca ended the call. She nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"You got the weirdest conversations with the weirdest people."

"You know, that might actually be first thing I agree with you on," Pucca replied dryly, in which Garu added with a girly voice: "Wow, we should hold an anniversary!"

"Do that _after_ I kick your butt."

The sparring session went quite good. Pucca wasn't all that bad at hand-to-hand combat, though she was a little stiff after not having to train as much as before. Garu, on the other hand, looked like he knew what he was doing and had this mischievous glint in his eyes the whole time. Something that pissed Pucca off and sent a tingle down her spine at the same time. He was taunting her. In his case it wasn't acceptable. Definitely not. So she used her pissed off rage to gain some more power in her strikes as she went faster to catch him off guard somehow.

Unfortunately that was the other way around.

His foot kicked out while her fists were aiming for his upper body, and immediately she lost balance. She fell forward and grabbed onto her opponent for stability only to drag him with her on her shameful way down.

"Oof!"

"Ugh, how graceful of you to drag me down with you."

"Shut up, it was all your fault!"

"Hmmm, where have I heard that one before?"

"Shut up!"

As Pucca slowly raised herself up, she noticed how close she and Garu where to one another. Gazing into his orbs for the hundred time, she felt like she couldn't breathe at all and could feel his warm and panting breath hit her exposed skin that instantly heated up as well. Just like that the two teenagers who'd been bickering all day became quiet when being near each other.

_Well, I can only say Happy Valentine's Day to me!_

* * *

**A/N: My first real update in a long time! Yay! You guys deserve it! :3**


	16. New Rivals and Jealousy

**A/N: Hello again! Boy, has it rained with reviews from this story! I got all sorts of comments about why my story was 'complete'. I was SO confused of why people kept asking about that, and then found out that I'd labeled it complete! Sorry everyone! Also, I wanna tell the person who reviewed as 'Guest' that I'm very thankful for all the positive feedback and comments about my profile. You're not bugging me at all! Also, thanks for the reviews for the rest of you!**

**So, this is rather small, because it's not supposed to lead anywhere other than towards the fact that THESE TWO LIKE EACH OTHER! xD I also need to update some Ninja Turtle fanfic, so let's do this quickly!**

**Disclaimer: When I actually DO own Pucca, I'll let you guys know ;D**

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**Chapter 15: New Rivals and Jealousy. **

It was a chilly day when Ching and Lily were doing homework at Ching's place, listening to music in the meanwhile.

"So, I heard you found a guy, Lily," the sword-wielder said, and to a halt at doing mathematic calculations to glance at the blonde teen who didn't stop. On the contrary, the pencil she was holding was now moving faster.

"Hmm?"

"And I also heard he's cute."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, yes, a bird told me that he's very also very polite, has very pretty green eyes, and long brown hair."

".."

"He must be _very_ smart. I can't _imagine_ how many thoughts he must have in that _sexy little head _of his-."

"Alright, cut it out!" the blonde girl exclaimed with visibly red cheeks as Ching broke into laughter. "Pucca obviously has told you about Tito, so would you please not me reconsider the whole 'suicide' thing?"

"Why didn't you tell me about this guy? Thought you could keep him a secret from me, huh?" the black-haired girl asked as her head rested on the back of her hands. She smiled teasingly.

"No," Lily lied and crossed her arms.

"You know, it would be much easier for you if you'd just introduce us all to your mysterious boyfriend instead of hiding him away for yourself."

"He's not my boyfriend! And I was gonna introduce him at some point, you know."

"When everyone eventually figured it out?"

"Well, yeah, you were much luckier 'cause everyone already knew Abyo. You're not the one going through a whole hell of awkwardness," Lily pouted and blew her blue-dyed bangs away from her face.

"Aw, don't worry, I'm sure we'll like him," Ching assured and gave her friend a loose hug.

"But the whole 'sexy' part is something you keep to yourself, though."

"Chi-chi, wait till I get my hands on you..!"

But she didn't go very far before the door was opened to reveal a girl with pig-tails held by red ribbons. She gave a small wave before slumping down on Ching's couch in exhaustion.

"What a workout today! The cheerleader session today was way harder than usual," Pucca exhaled deeply. Lily dramatically leaned above her with both her arms raised.

"I should just tickle you till you beg of mercy for ratting to Ching about Tito."

"You know, I think I'm being followed…"

"Say what?"

Pucca raised herself into a sitting-position and glanced at both of her friends. "When I went home after cheerleading, I felt as if someone was following me. I looked around but I didn't see anyone _suspicious-looking_ so I kept going. Eventually, the feeling faded out but it's not the first time someone's been after me. It's been going on for the past week."

"You're saying that for a week someone has been stalking you?" Ching asked in confusion.

"I'm definitely sure."

"Maybe it's Garu."

The room was silent after Lily had spoken those forbidden words.

"As if," Pucca snorted. "He's more likely the guy to make other girls stalk his arrogant ass. There's no way in hell Garu would ever stalk me. He doesn't like me that way and I don't like him that way. Besides his ego is way too big."

* * *

The next day during recess Pucca felt the same sensation of being followed. Her azure eyes scanned the whole cafeteria, and they cracked open when she saw a shadow disappear at the entrance. She instantly left the table where Lily was telling a tale about a guy who was sent to hospital because of a school cafeteria's bad food. Dodging the different students, Pucca could see a person running away by taking a shortcut through the school's swimming pool.

The cheerleader smirked as she approached the springboard, and leaped on top of it. She bounced highly into the air and made an incredible somersault in the air before twirling downwards and landing gracefully on the ground, a few meters before the person. He stopped up when Pucca raised herself and finally got a good look on him. He was a little taller than her, with a tanned skin, short dark hair and dark eyes. What stood out the most was a scar formed as an X on the bridge of his nose.

"You, there," the cheerleader said, placing her hands on her hips. "I bet you were the one stalking me for the past week? Don't try to lie to me because I can tell."

"You can't blame me for checking out such a beautiful young lady," the stranger smirked with a flirting voice that made Pucca shudder a little.

"What the..?"

The pig-tailed girl soon saw her two friends run towards her in the distance along with someone else.

_Garu_.

"Hey, Puu-Puu; did you catch the stalker? Oh," Lily said when they arrived.

"Yes, but why did you have to bring him here?" Pucca asked annoyingly, and glared evilly at Garu. He smirked in amusement.

"Well, in case it was a dangerous stalker, we brought him along so he could beat him up for us," Ching said matter-of-factly.

"You're going to need _way _more than that coward to Garu if you wanna beat me up," the stranger said. When Garu glanced at him, his eyes widened and looked accusingly at the stranger.

"Tobe..?"

"So, we meet again, Garu," Tobe smirked. "So, the rumors that you'd moved to another school were true after all."

"Wait, you know the stalker?" Pucca asked Garu, who nodded in return.

"He's a rival of mine at my old high school I transferred from," he smirked. "Also he's a major girl stalker."

"I'm not a stalker!"

"What do _you_ call it when you follow someone for a whole week?"

"I was simply checking you out. I've had my eyes on you for quite a while, my dear Pucca. And I promise that one day you will be mine."

Pucca was supposed to say something back at him when Garu went in front of her.

"I thought you had other girls to attend to, Tobe. Leave Pucca out of this."

Said girl's blue orbs widened in surprise and she was speechless. Lily was whistling in the background. "Wooo! We wanna see a man-fight!"

"Why don't you back off, Garu?" Tobe retorted. "What are you; her boyfriend?"

Both Garu and Pucca blushed madly in disapproval and started talking at the same time.

"No way! Garu is so not my boyfriend, I could never fall for the likes of him-."

"She's not my girlfriend, Tobe, you're moving out of the subject-."

Tobe's eyes lit up in delight. "Does that mean you'll go out with me?"

"No! You're a crazy stalker!"

"I'm not a stalker!"

"Yes, Tobe, you are."

"I said, back off Garu!"

"No, you back off Pucca. She's not interested in you."

"How do _you_ know that?" Pucca angrily asked Garu.

"You just said so!"

"Yeah, but still, don't talk for me; I'm not a baby!"

"Says the girl with the pig-tails."

"Garu, just wait till I get my hands on you..!"

"Um, guys, recess is over..," Ching said to snap everyone back to reality. All the students were returning to their classes, with the exception of them.

"Fear not, my flower, you'll be mine as soon as I wipe away that insect to Garu away," Tobe said mischievously and kissed Pucca's hand before disappearing away.

"That was kinda creepy," Lily said as they all entered the halls of school again. Garu departed with the three ladies but not before leaving a comment.

"Don't you ever poke your nose in business that's not yours," Pucca threatened darkly but he just grinned.

"I should've guessed that you wouldn't mind his creepy signs of affections. You know; from one stalker to another?"

Both Lily and Chin had to hold back a majorly swearing Pucca from beating a laughing Garu into a pulp.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter is to arrive. :0 Thanks for all the feedback so far!**


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